


The Gate of Time

by CustardAlvis



Category: Steins;Gate, 東京放課後サモナーズ | Tokyo Afterschool Summoners | Housamo
Genre: Visual Novel-esque, Yes there will be callbacks to my ZExHousamo fic, lots of images
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 02:52:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18379457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CustardAlvis/pseuds/CustardAlvis
Summary: A narrative taking place combining Tokyo Afterschool Summoners and Steins;Gate, because why not!This will be done kinda like a screenshot let's play or a Visual Novel, so there's expressions and little scenes and stuff.~MAJOR SPOILERS FOR STEINS;GATE~Also will be spoilers for my Zero Escape Housamo fic because I'm the author and no one can stop me





	1. Summoning from the Gate

**Author's Note:**

> Because crossing over housamo with other stuff is Fun

One moment, I’m standing in the middle of Future Gadget Labs, observing the ‘Alpaca-man’ located within our TV, contemplating the existence of such a creature. Truly, how terrifying would a being such as that be in the real world? No. I shudder at the thought. Such things are best kept to the world of imagination. Immediately after dispelling the notion, I’m swarmed with rings of yellow light, and all turned black.

The next moment, I wake up in a room- a laboratory, judging by the number of bookshelves, filing cabinets, and computers. What devious machination could have-

Ah, yes. This must be a dream, a dream in which I, Hououin Kyouma, am the rightful ruler! Everything begins to fall into place, and I start to laugh. I’m stricken with the sudden and inexplicable urge to introduce myself to a boy who’s now staring at me, a foolish grin on his face. But, of course, he surely has no idea who he just called forth!

 “Hey there!”

Pah! He didn’t even let me introduce myself. He now has the lead in this conversation- not that it matters. Now that I know this is a dream, I can do what I wish to my own leisure.

_ “Greetings, o naive summoner! You are in the presence of the mad scientist hell-bent on the destruction of the world order! You may refer to me is none other than that of Hououin Kyouma! Hear my very name and tremble with fear!” _

 “Er, if you say so!”

What!? How could he be so unconvinced? Or- could it be that he’s already used to such behavior? In a dreamscape of my own creation, I suppose the inhabitants may already be aware of my person.

 “Sit tight, alright? I’ve got four more pulls of this multi left!”

Multi? What is this, some half-baked gachapon game? Perhaps Daru’s obsession with his ‘Waifus’ has permeated my subconscious. I confess though, I am slightly curious how my dream will unfold.

_ “Very well! But know this- you will surely perish for disturbing the likes of Hououin-” _

 “Yeah, yeah. If I had 10 yen for every time I heard something like that, I’d be rich!”

Such impertinence! Nevertheless, I pull a chair out from one of the desks and sit down. The boy taps something down on his phone, and a small pillar of light erupts in front of him again. When it finally fades away, a girl is standing where I myself had been mere moments ago.

What?

 “Tutturu~!”

This is Shiina Mayuri, a girl I’ve known for a very long time. We’re childhood friends, in fact. I’m not particularly surprised by her appearance. Wherever I go, she’s sure to follow- at least until she gets lost. She’s something of the heart of the Future Gadget Lab.

 “Oh! Hi Okarin!”

Bah! Even in my dreams, she refuses to use the name granted to me by fate itself. I pull out my phone. To my surprise, it appears to be a very modern touchscreen model. Unperturbed, I put it to my ear.

_ “Yes. It’s me. It appears that I’ve been trapped within some sort of childlike fantasy. I haven’t the faintest idea how we got… Yes. I understand. I’ll keep on the lookout and report with more information as soon as I get an open moment. That’s right. Expect to hear from me shortly. El Psy Kongroo.” _

With that, I put my phone back in my pocket.

 “Uh, who was that?”

 “Okarin likes to pretend he’s talking on the phone with someone sometimes, don’t worry!”

_ “I assure you, I do no such thing! I simply cannot tell you who it is, or else my fight against The Organization would surely falter!” _

 “The Organization? Jeeze. And here I thought I had enough on my plate already.”

_ “Mayuri, what’s your status?” _

 “I’m not seeing any bananas around here, Okarin!”

Helpful as ever, Mayuri.

The light erupts once again when the boy taps his phone. It only takes a moment for another familiar face to show himself.

Hashida Itaru, the ‘Supah Hakah’ of Future Gadget Labs. Extremely capable and dangerous when put in the right mindset. He spends most of his time ogling 2D women though, then cheating on them with the 3D women at MayQueen NyanNyan. He’s a trusted associate of mine.

 “Uh… Okarin, what did you do?”

_ “What do you mean ‘what did you do?’ I remain as innocent as my lab coat!” _

 “Seriously.”

_ “W-What makes you think I’m not telling the truth?” _

 “Daru! Tutturu~!”

 “Ah, Mayushii? Where are we? I was in the middle of an ero-”

_ “I’m afraid I’ll have to stop you in your tracks, Supah Hakah. If you want an explanation, I’m sure this boy here will tell us.” _

 “Sure, but I’m gonna pass on that until I’ve finished. There’s two more summons left!”

“Summons?”

 “Honestly, three non-dupes in a row is pretty good! Gotta say I’m shocked! My luck isn’t ever this good.”

This is beginning to feel more and more like some sort of gacha game. He taps his phone screen again, and I take notice that he has a fancy touch screen phone, much like the one I have in my pocket. By the time I look up, the lights have vanished once again.

 “Well, this is new.”

_ “Cristina?” _

 “Would you stop calling me that!?”

Makise Kurisu, a fearsome scientist of a caliber on par with my own. While she’s mainly a neuroscientist, she was known as the ‘mother of time travel’ in an alternate worldline. I performed quite the feat when I reached Steins Gate, saving both hers and Mayuri’s lives. She’s been an invaluable asset to the Future Gadget Lab- although, I remain as the only one who truly remembers everything that happened. She makes for quite the assistant-

 “And I’m not your assistant either!”

She looks around, her eyes falling on Mayuri.

 “Ah, Mayuri! I’m glad someone personable is here.”

She’s always taking digs at me like this.

_ “I’m glad to see you’re self-aware enough to not include yourself in that.” _

 “In any case, what did you do this time?”

She completely ignored my scathing remark.

_ “Why does everyone assume I did something!?” _

 “Is this guy bad news?”

 “Not really.”

I don’t know whether to feel praised or insulted. Nevertheless, the as-of-yet-unnamed boy tapped his phone again. That same pillar of golden light erupted before us. He said this would be the last one, right? Maybe it’ll be Faris or Rukako. Knowing myself, those two are likely to appear in a dream of mine. I imagine I’ll have a headache in the morning if it’s Faris…

Huh?

Well, I guess this certainly confirms this is just a dream. Amane Suzuha can’t exist, not after everything that happened in the α and β world lines. She’s the future daughter of Daru and went by the name ‘John Titor’ prior to the shift to Steins Gate. Once we reached that world line, there wasn’t any reason for her to have traveled back to the past, so she ceased existing. Judging from that appearance, she’s the same as back in the β line… which makes sense for a dream, I suppose.

 “Okabe Rintarou? Where is this? Did I overshoot…?”

_ “Erm, I-” _

 “Okarin! Come over here!”

_ “What is it now, Daru? Can’t you see I’m busy?” _

 “What in the…?”

Each of them was now gathered by the window, looking out into whatever landscape my brilliant mind had created. Curious about what exactly they were looking at and slightly frustrated at my lack of dreamlike omnipotence, I stepped over.

_ “Alright, move. What’s the issue…” _

I trailed off. Outside the window were two large, mostly naked men yelling at each other. I’m not just talking shirtless. It was like we had walked into some opposite version of one of Daru’s eroge games. Where there would be a scantily clad moe girl, instead there are two beefy men.

I’m not sure if I should be repulsed or if I should break out in maniacal laughter.

 “W-Who in the world are those two!? Why are they dressed like… like that!?”

 “Ooh! Are those two cosplayers? That one on the left has some really fancy fins!”

 “Ehehe, I don’t think any of us could dress like that, though!”

_ “I should certainly hope not.” _

 “Ah! Those are a couple of my teachers. The one with all the smoke is Jinn. The one he’s arguing with him is Triton.”

 “Sexy teachers I can get behind, but why are they burly dudes? Gahh…”

 “Hold on, like a djinn and the Greek god Poseidon’s son? What are they doing dressing up like that when they work here? Do you have something like a mythology day?”

 “Uh, myths?”

 “Where are we-”

She stopped, staring at Kurisu as if for the first time. Her expression grew taught and distasteful.

 “And what is  _she_ doing here?”

It’s only now that I remember that β-Suzuha had- or has- quite the problem with Makise Kurisu. In a valiant effort to maintain the humble order of our world, it was time to destroy it.

_ “Alright! It’s time to end this dream. Mayuri, please pinch me.” _

 “Whaat? Why? Okarin hasn’t done anything wrong-”

 “That’s not true.”

_ “That is not helpful, assistant- Ow!” _

 “Happy?”

I rub my stinging arm, which Kurisu had just pinched far harder than she had any right to. This brought about a startling conclusion.

_ “This isn’t a dream.” _

 “No shit.”

 “Hehe~ Why would you think that?”

Mayuri pulls out her pocket watch, rubbing its glass surface on her dress to remove fingerprints. An icy feeling of dread sweeps through me. Thankfully, there was a desk nearby with which to steady myself.

_ “You there, oh cursed being who has brought us into this accursed timeline of mostly naked teachers. What have you done?” _

 “I summoned you!”

_ “And what, exactly, does that entail?” _

 “…Uh. I kinda hold some shiny stones, then press this button…”

He holds out his phone, a little  **tenfold summon**  button dulled out on the front.

 “So, what is it? Some sort of spatial teleportation device? No, that couldn’t be the case. If something so complex were to exist, why would it have such a… rudimentary interface? And teleporting the five of us here so specifically, too… Is something like that even possible?”

 “Gee, I don’t know. Why don’t you just puzzle that out yourself.”

 “Who even are you? Did I do something?”

 “Not yet. But you will.”

This is playing out exactly like it did last time. Woeful though it may be, I know that it’s fruitless to try and stop them-

 “Okarin, do you know this girl?”

Damnit Daru. I suppose I’ll use this moment to find out a few things on my own.

_ “Why, this girl here is a very pivotal instrument in the fight against The Organization! Were it not for her, we would all fall into their clutches. Do you not remember Suzuha Amane, the Working Warrior, in any capacity?” _

 “You’ve lost me.”

_ “Mayuri? Cristina?” _

 “Nope! It’s nice to meet you, Suzu!”

 “I’ve never seen her before in my life. Well, I don’t think I have, in any case. I feel a bit of… deja vu, or something. And I’m not Cristina.”

 “...Huh? I know we’ve interacted…”

If those three have no recollection of Suzuha, that means they’re from the Steins Gate worldline. That much is obvious. I, of course, remember because of my Reading Steiner ability. This rare skill allows me to seamlessly see the changes when a worldline shifts. Sometimes it is a blessing, while at other points it may be a curse. Regardless, I am more than up to the task of bearing this burden!

_ “What’s the matter, Working Warrior?” _

 “You remember me but they don’t…?”

_ “Quite the distressing situation, isn’t it?” _

 “Not that you look particularly concerned.”

To tell the truth, I’m quite relieved. Suzuha’s existence is puzzling, yes, but these three’s existences stem from the Steins Gate world line. This means that chances are that neither Kurisu nor Mayuri has their death as a point of convergence. Maybe it’s a bit illogical to think that way, but it feels right.

It also occurs to me that this Suzuha still holds contempt for Kurisu, which in turn means she doesn’t realize that Daru is her father. A tricky situation indeed. Rather than tackle these problems, I will instead deign to deal with the elephant in the room.

_ “You there! Young man who summoned us to this plane, what is the meaning behind this!?” _

 “Great question!”

_ “What is your answer?” _

 “Uhm. To make some new friends and allies?”

Unbelievable. I don’t have the time to be caught up with this, I have an entire world order to destabilize!

He looks down at his phone, tapping on a few screens.

 “That’s weird.”

 “What is?”

 “My app here keeps track of all the summons I’ve made, right? If I want to, I can cut a contract. In your cases, that’s not a thing.”

_ “Contract? I don’t remember making a contract with you! I mean… I did kinda hear some voice saying something, but I thought that was part of a dream.” _

 “Well, you’re not dreaming. Er, what about the rest of you?”

 “I’m in the same boat as Okabe, actually. I just thought it was a dream.”

 “I dunno, it sounded like something out of one of my eroges. But instead of big chested moe waifus, there’s just nearly naked dudes!”

 “There’s something I could say related to that, but I think it’ll be more fun to see you when it happens.”

_ “What’s that supposed to mean?” _

 “Mayushii heard there’d be tasty food here!”

That’ll do it.

 “…”

Suzuha had been staring out the window at the two teachers who were still at each other's throats. The display must surely be entertaining, but this is far more important than those two.

She turned back around, holding her hand behind her head.

 “I don’t remember anything like that. All I remember is a kind of pull…?”

_ “Was it, perhaps, the same pull of a time machine?” _

 “No.”

 “Wait, I didn’t- er, where’d that come from?”

So she doesn’t have any memory of revealing herself as a time traveler to us. That lines up with that d-mail I sent to prevent me from stopping her. I whip out my phone and put it to my ear.

_ “Yes, it’s me. I have a status report. It appears that the forces that be are influencing- hey!” _

 “Let’s calm down with the pretentious hipster bullshit, ok?”

She hands my phone back to me with a smile. Of course, the screen wasn’t even lit.

_ “Ngh-!” _

 “Oh hey! We haven’t really introduced ourselves, have we? I’m Shiina Mayuri, but you can call me Mayushii!”

 “If you have any cool ramen here, that’d be super tasty!”

 “I’m Hashida Itaru, but I go by Daru. I’m not a ‘Supah Hakah,’ like Okarin says, but I’m good with computers.”

 “Now if you have any teachers like those but, say, more moe… maybe some lolis…”

 “Always a pervert, even when we’re who-knows-where.”

 “I’m Makise Kurisu. Nice to meet you. Just as a heads up, don’t take anything Okabe says seriously.”

_ “To think my own assistant would make a mockery of my imposing self! It’s unthinkable!” _

While they’re basking in my cool, dramatic tone, I flourish my lab coat behind me and strike a menacing pose. Were I in some sort of fantasy universe, I have no doubts that purple “menacing” letters would spawn into being around me.

_ “Tremble in fear as you bear witness to the most infamous mad scientist known from the east to the west! The head of Future Gadget Labs, Lab mem 001- Hououin Kyouma-” _

 “This is Okabe Rintarou.”

 “Okarin!”

_ “Blast you both! I shall not be disrespected this way-” _

 “Nice to meet you, Okabe.”

Does my influence really hold such little sway!? Nay, perish the thought.

_ “You may laugh now, but it’s just a matter until you realize the terrifying genius of Hououin Kyouma!” _

I flourish my lab coat again, surely impressing the young man.

 “Okabe Rintarou’s weirdness aside, I’m Amane Suzuha.”

 “Nice to meet you all! My name is Shizuo!”

We wait for a few seconds, but he says nothing beyond that.

_ “Just Shizuo? ” _

 “Er, yeah. That’s all I remember about my name.”

 “Amnesia? I’m sorry to hear that. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to forget who I am.”

A twinge of hurt crosses through my heart. After all, in one worldline, that exact thing had happened to her. She suffered greatly for it as she was unable to fulfill her mission. That was also the worldline where she learned that Daru is her father, so when I erased that… it’s like it never happened. I’m the only one saddled with those memories.

 “Oh, those two left! Aw, Mayushii wanted to ask where he got his fins…”

 “That might be… a little bit of a problem. They don’t exactly come off, see.”

 “Care to elaborate?”

Just then, the door slammed open with the force of ten thousand swings of the sealed sword Samidare. In ran two people. “People,” I say, despite the fact that one of them clearly was not a person. But rather, a dog. A man-mutt hybrid of some sort. As some would put on @channel, a “furry.”

 “Shizuo! What is going on? Who are all these people?”

 “Did you summon all of these people?”

 “Maybe.”

“Shizuo, you’re being too reckless!”

Hold on.

_ “Hold on.” _

I can’t help but say it out loud. When I look over at each of the lab mems, their expressions mirror mine, with the sole exception of Mayuri.

 “Cute! Here, doggy! Shake!”

She holds out her hand to the terrifying abomination before us. I’m half afraid the vicious beast is going to take off Mayuri’s hand for daring to tease it.

 *Shakes hand*

 “Ah! I did it again!”

 “Why is this… dog… man… talking?”

 “Talking demon dog…!”

 “Good heavens, where!?”

 “Ah, so this is how it felt to see me for the first time. Hehe.”

How can he laugh at us so calmly when demons scour whatever Earth we’ve found ourselves washed up on!?

_ “Shizuo. Please, explain this thing.” _

 “He has a name!”

 “I am Moritaka Shino Inuzaka! It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance!”

 “Right. And you are a talking dog because…?”

 “Well, there’s a whole lot to it, you see, but basically there are all sorts of different people in this world! There are some dog people, some bird people, some lizard people, cat, magical humans, you name it! A friend of mine that works at a cafe even mentioned a water buffalo man a couple of times.”

 “You mean to tell me furries are. A real thing. If there weren’t one in front of me, I wouldn’t believe you.”

 “I’m confused.”

 “Shizuo, this is very important. Are there bunny girls?”

 “If not now, then I’m sure there will be soon enough.”

 “Okarin, I like this place.”

_ “Ah, Supah Hakah, your simple perverted mind is so easily swayed. I for one find this whole situation quite…” _

 “Intriguing?”

 “Disturbing?”

 “Speak!”

 “Woof!”

 “Ah!”

 “Hehe~!”

_ "I was going to say mystifying, but I suppose that works just as well." _

I am struck with a sudden, brilliant thought. For a world to be radically different, it must have diverged substantially from the Steins Gate worldline. It would be best to check the specific divergence myself, at least to make sure we haven’t somehow found ourselves somewhere we’d rather not be. Convergence-wise, at least.

_ “Working Warrior! Do you have the divergence meter on you, perchance?” _

 “...! How would you know about the divergence meter!?”

I say nothing.

 “Hmph. No, I don’t have it. Don’t know where it is.”

 “Is this object important to you two?”

 “Something like that. And who are you?”

 “Shiro Motoori. I’m a part of Shizuo’s guild, serving as general tactician for the group.”

 “We haven’t been at this for too long, so I’m afraid my knowledge over things like this may be limited. However, you all are technical ‘transients’ in this world, regardless of how human you appear. If you have a phone, you may have something called the ‘summon’ app.”

I pull out my phone and, sure enough, there’s an icon labeled with that very title. I tap it, bringing me to some form of messaging app. Already in my contacts are Kurisu, Daru, Mayuri, and Suzuha under a little banner that reads ‘Future Gadget Lab.’ Then, I notice a small button flashing on the side. When I bring it up, a list of words pop up.

_ “Role of the observer? Rule of time? Pah, what nonsense is- ah!” _

Despite my ambivalent attitude, a glowing light appears in my hand, solidifying into a box with 8 glass tubes coming out the top in a matter of seconds. Without a doubt, this has to be the divergence meter.

 “Hold on, how did you get ahold of it just now? And what’s wrong with it? It can’t be broken, can it?”

The 4 glass tubes lit up orange on the left with the letters OSHM. The 8th tube read A, and the three before that one were blank.

Perhaps whatever worldline we’re on defies any normal sense of divergence. After all, what sort of change would have to occur in order for us to be on such a drastically different path to where dog-people could exist? It defies all reasonable explanation to be sure.

I put my phone to my ear.

_ “Yes, it’s me. I appear to be trapped in some alternate furry dimension. I may need backup. No, my Reading Steiner hasn’t activated. You believe this is important!? Please, reconsider! No- you’re absolutely right. The fight against the organization takes many twists and turns. The road to victory may be a treacherous one, but I will persist. El Psy Kongroo.” _

I put my phone down with a smirk.

_ “You there, wielder of that most privy of information. Tell us about this world! In order to fight against the Organization, I must know everything. Who are these beasts in the form of men? What is that ridiculous looking book you’re holding? What is this app? Tell me everything I wish to know, and you will earn favor with the mad scientist Hououin Kyouma! Hahaha!” _

 “Why is no one normal!?”

 “That’s Okarin for you.”

 “For once, he might actually have something of a point. There’s far too much about this that I don’t get.”

”…Yeah.”

 “Ah, I know! You can be Moshizu!”

 “Me? Ah, Mo-Shi-Zu. I get it. What is it?”

 “Can you go fetch us some snacks?”

 “Of course! I’ll be back in a moment!”

 “Hehe! Good boy!”

 “Sigh… I guess I can explain. It’ll take a while.”

Shizuo pulls up a chair next to me and leans back.

 “Thanks, Shiro!”

 “Don’t think you’re getting away from my scolding, Shizuo. You should have been studying, not summoning.”

 “Oh, is that what you said?”

This ‘Shiro’ character sighed and folded his arms. I sit on the edge of my seat, hoping dearly for an explanation why we were summoned here, what that divergence meter reading meant and, almost the most important of all, why in the world the school would allow two members of their faculty to run around in little more than a thong.

Understanding whatever he has to say will be nothing short of trivial for the likes of Hououin Kyouma!

 “It all began around the turn of the century…”


	2. Lab Mem 00-Zero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hououin Kyouma's plan and actions incites shock and awe in his humble followers.

 “...That about covers it. Any questions?”

 

Well, of course we have questions! It’s just a matter of which of us ask first, I’m sure.

 “Nope!”

Excluding Mayuri, apparently.

 “I have too many questions, really. It sounds unbelievable- gates, ‘sacred artifacts,’ fur- er, anthropomorphic animals. If this dog- er, Moritaka, was it?”

 “You are correct!”

 “Well, if you weren’t right in front of me, I’d have a hard time believing you.”

The experiment loving girl reaches down and pokes the dog… man. Thing.

 “Gah!”

 “Well, you’re real enough, alright. I wonder how your brain structure differs…”

“Now, now. Leave the demon dog alone. I know just how sorely seduced you may be by the promise of knowledge but-”

 “Hmph.”

 “Demon dog?”

She has to be burning up with the desires of a true mad scientist, I have no doubt. She may hide it behind a cool and calculated exterior, but it becomes extraordinarily obvious when she has her mind set on a hypothesis. I must take measures to protect the fascinating-yet-terrifying inhabitants of this bizarre world from her insatiable thirst for research!

_ “My ferocious assistant aside-” _

I can feel her eyes boring into the back of my skull- no doubt because of my glorious leadership ability and certainly not because I had referred to her as my assistant yet again. I begin to laugh.

_ “Fufufu… this world has no idea what awaits it! You say this is app is a game? Why, if that’s the case, then nothing has changed! The whole world is a game to me! Every member of the society I will bring down is nothing but a pawn, designed to be moved by my unseen, omnipotent hand!” _

There, that should put a stop to their foolish antics. I puff out my chest dramatically and sit down, my arms crossed.

_ “Shizuo!” _

 “Eh?”

I point at him in an extremely cool and important manner.

_ “Henceforth, you will be known as Lab mem double-O Zero! You will be the Future Gadget Lab’s link to this nonreal world, so different and off the track of Steins;Gate. You are now officially known as the Twilit Summoner! Wear your title with pride as you join us in our quest to bring about chaos to the unwitting masses.” _

 “Didn’t you steal that from a game? It’s too early for twilight, Okarin.”

I pull out my phone, ignoring the derision from my ally.

_ “Yes, it’s me. This world is different from ours- too different, I should add. I am puzzled that the five of us were called to this land… yes. It’s a miracle we can remain in contact under such dire circumstances. I understand perfectly, that is why I have enlisted the help of one of the inhabitants of this Tokyo. Yes, yes. I will report back in due time. El Psy Kongroo.” _

I lower my hand, a smirk ready on my face. As a guildmaster, Shizuo, the Twilit Summoner, shall be our entryway into the society of this world. The fact that we were bound together- yes. This must be the will of Steins;Gate!

 “Uh. O-Ok then? What does that mean?”

 “Couldn’t you just say triple-O?”

_ “Worry yourselves not with the details. Everything is as it should be, I am convinced.” _

 “That’s nice and all, but isn’t this situation a bit more serious than filling out your ranks?”

 “If those ‘gates’ showed up at the turn of the 21st century, then this can’t be time travel. I’m sure we would have noticed them back in our Tokyo. I hate to say it, but I don’t know what other explanation there could be.”

 “Interesting.”

_ “What is?” _

 “I know I don’t have a particularly large sample size but, usually when someone is summoned, they’re not quite so stubborn. On top of that, the myths these individuals come from are from aren’t exactly uncommon. My sacred artifact, for instance, deals with the Lovecraftian gods. I’ve never heard of a Steins Gate myth.”

I flourish dramatically.

_ “Steins Gate is no myth, I assure you! I have been there myself- all of us have been, barring a peculiar exception. I harbor the special power known as Reading Steiner, which allows me to see the changes in world lines. Tremble in my fearsome ability!” _

 “Well, then you’re more than a match for the others here. All sorts of transients have latent abilities like that. Well, maybe not specifically that, but control over elements, creation, or analysis for instance.”

Did he just say they hold the very power of creation in their furry mitts!? If I am not being led on some half-baked goose chase, then such an ability would be perfect if only I could add it to my arsenal.

 “Okarin?”

I turn to Mayuri, who has a pleading look spread across her face.

_ “What is it?” _

 “Mayushii’s hungry.”

 “Once we’re all done here, we can go check out that cafe I mentioned earlier!”

 “The one your friend works at? Are they, uh, human? If they’re talking about a water buffalo man all the time, I can’t imagine-”

 “That, she is! I think. Sometimes it’s a bit hard to tell.”

 “Ah.”

 “I think you should go get Mayuri some food, Okabe. I just have too many questions, we’ll be here all day.”

 “I think I’ll stay here too. Shiro, could I boot up one of the computers?”

 “Go ahead.”

 “Sweet. I wonder if the censorship is still…”

His words turn to a mutter as he sits down in front of the screen. I stand back up, putting my hands in my lab coat.

_ “Working Warrior? You coming?” _

 “Do I have to…?”

She looks back over at Kurisu. I’m struck again by just how odd it is that she exists here.

 “Oh, alright.”

She gets up from where she was leaning against the wall, Mayuri stepping happily in her wake. The demon dog, Moritaka, steps up to us.

 “Let us get going!”

 “Not so fast, I’m going to need you here too. I’ve got a lot of questions for someone of your… nature.”

 “Ah… ok. I understand.”

 “Don’t worry, Mori. You can join us next time!”

 “Everyone ready? If you are, let’s get going.”

Without further delay, we set off toward the cafe that would surely become a common meeting grounds should Mayuri take a liking to it. Despite the apparent size of the school and the time it must be, there were very few actual students. Perhaps some diabolical secret could be lurking within these halls!

 “Oh, looks like it’s a holiday today. There’s a poster on the wall about it, see?”

She is absolutely right, as boring as it may be.

Just as soon as we stepped outside, we came across an old man whose unbuttoned shirt left precious little to the imagination.

 “Ah, Shizuo. I see you’re up and about as always. Who might these be, more friends of yours?”

 “Yep!”

 “Tutturu~! I’m Mayushii and this is Okarin! Oh, and over here is Suzu!”

Once again, Mayuri doesn’t realize how hazardous it is to reveal myself in such a nonchalant manner! No matter- I will rectify this with a proper introduction so as to fill this mysterious old man with shock and awe.

_ “I know not this ‘Okarin’ of which you speak. I am the mad scientist set on this dystopia to ruin this gentle order. ‘Houou’ as in the phoenix, undying as its burning flames! ‘In’ as the temple, hallowed be my name! ‘Kyou’ as in ‘atrocious’ giving way to ‘ma’, the ‘truth’ that I shall reveal to this humble world. I am-!” _

 “He likes calling himself ‘Hououin Kyouma’ when his real name is Okabe Rintarou, apparently.”

Betrayed so soon after being instated as a lab mem! Such a serious breach in the confidentiality of this group. I must be sure to fix his behavior at the earliest convenience.

 “…Okabe Rintarou?”

His once good-natured appearance quickly turned stern. Could it be that this man knows who I am?

Faster than his scowl appeared, it vanished to a smile again.

 “Hououin Kyouma, huh? That’s quite a coincidence. My name is Kyouma Mononobe. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

_ “I- uh, likewise.” _

Something about this man has put me on edge. It feels like he knows something. Perhaps this man is a part of that organization I so fiercely defy!?

 “Okarin?”

I shrug it off to appear as calm and collected as I normally am. I will not allow the organization to play games with my brilliant mind!

…But then, what could I possibly ask that would not attract suspicion onto myself!? I have next to no experience with this world other than that it has a similar layout to the Tokyo I was in a mere day ago. Surely if I ask what he does, he’ll ask me of my own occupation. There would be far too many opportunities for the smallest mistake to spiral out of my control!

 “This is my homeroom teacher and something of my legal guardian.”

Ah, I suppose that makes sense with what Shiro told us. “Transients” must be affiliated with a school- something that I, myself, might have to do at some point. I pass easily as a local human thanks to my impeccable ability to fit in where I must. Since Shizuo here is also a transient, despite his appearance, he must be affiliated with this school in Shinjuku.

Shizuo turns to face the old man, whose eyes casually linger on my face. He unnerves me. My suspicion that he works for The Organization grows ever stronger.

 “We’re just heading out to the cafe.”

 “Alright then. Try not to get into too much trouble. Again.”

 “Aw, come on! I’m not that bad.”

What has this boy done to earn such a negative reputation from his teacher? My list of things to inquire continues to mount larger and larger. Suzuha stares at the old man’s exposed chest.

 “What’s up with the shirt? Is that just the latest thing?”

 “You know, that is an excellent question.”

We stand there, waiting for an answer which will no doubt illuminate why those two men from before were wearing hardly anything. Shiro failed to adequately explain that. Perhaps Kurisu will make a note to ask him or that demon dog.

 “Well then, have fun!”

He turns around on the spot and walks back into the building without any words in defense of his unprofessional appearance.

 “I know I might have been new to the fads at the time, but this is far too different from how anyone dressed back there.”

_ “I am just as confused as you are, if not more so.” _

 “Heh, I find that hard to believe.”

And yet she continues to exist, something that should be impossible given our origin of the Steins Gate worldline. Who could I even ask about this? Asking around any of the lab mems might lead to something far more complicated than I would prefer to deal with.

 “Hehe~! I bet cosplay contests here are crazy!”

_ “I’m sure you’re right about that.” _

 “Let’s keep going. It’s not actually that far from here, just around the block. I bet you my friend is on her shift right now!”

 “The, uh, buffalo-obsessed one?”

 “Hm. I’m not sure if I’d put it that way. I’ve known her a while and she’s only mentioned that once or twice.”

 “Ah? Have you tried talking to her about it?”

He shrugged a shrug I know well. The shrug of no results. It’s a marvel just how well that particular action translates into meaning. I shrug back.

We continue along, passing beside people and other-worldly beings of all different types of description. Horned men, angels, a few dragons, even an angry-sounding blue-haired girl currently chasing after a rounder pink-haired boy, who was trying to outpace her on what looked like a floating cushion.

 “Jeeze, I wonder who that was.”

 “Was he… flying?”

 “I hope he’s alright!”

 “You and me both. I’d chase after them, but… well, here we are!”

We’re standing in front of a small cafe with nothing but a single purple flower for a name.

_ “What’s it called?” _

 “Great question! Most people just call it the Purple Flower, since that’s what’s on the sign!”

 “Creative.”

The door plays a little jingle as we step into the room awash with natural light. Orange chairs surround small tables, menus standing tall atop the surface. At the moment, there’s just a single pig-man with blue hair sitting in the corner, chortling gleefully at his phone screen. All the other tables remain empty.

 “Tutturu~!”

A girl walks out from a back room, holding two cups of tea and a steaming bowl of ramen. A purple flower adorns the side of her head. Wherever this place is, it clearly cares about its purple-flower image. Even her tie is purple, though her uniform looks similar to Shiro and Shizuo’s own.

 “Took you long enough!”

 “Am I that predictable?”

 “Without question.”

She sets down the tea and ramen on opposite sides of a table, pulling out three chairs.

 “A cup of tea for Shizuo, another for his unsettled-looking friend, and a bowl of ramen for the happy looking girl.”

 “Hooray!”

 “Woah, how’d you know I was bringing friends?”

 “Er, didn’t you say?”

I don’t remember Shizuo calling anyone, but perhaps he sent a message while I had my attention diverted elsewhere.

 “Who are you, and why are you giving us tea?”

 “My friends call me Aseko. It’s nice to meet you.”

She neglects to answer why she’s giving us tea. I can only assume it’s because of our connection to the Twilit Summoner.

 “Ah, looks like I’ve forgotten about your cup, mad scientist.”

_ “Hahaha! I see you have taken notice of my noble-yet-terrifying presence! Shudder in fear and despair at my most unholy of names, Hououin… Kyou-” _

 “Sure thing. Since I’m too busy cowering in fear of your almighty aura, why don’t you come back and pick out a blend? On the house.”

This reeks of suspicious. What reason would someone like this ordinary schoolgirl have to speak with me? Surely not anything underhanded! I am quite thirsty though, and all the shouting and laughing has parched my throat. I would prefer the intellectual drink of any self-respecting mad scientist, DK Pepper, over some hot tea, though. After weighing the incredible pros of quenching my thirst versus the terrifying cons of falling into The Organization’s trap, I follow her back there.

She leans on the wall, folding her arms. I notice that she has fingerless gloves, possibly with which to handle a phone. I, myself, used to collect them back in high school, so I can certainly appreciate their style and utility.

 “You’ve got a question on your mind, don’t you?”

I reel back in shock. How could this waitress have known of my dilemma!? No- I must remain strong. If she is this perceptive, then I must use her to my own advantage.

_ “Perhaps I do, perhaps I don’t. I can make no guarantees you would understand a word I say. In fact, it’s highly likely your mind would implode at the sheer gravity of my words! Are you still willing to offer assistance?” _

 “I wouldn’t have asked if I wouldn’t help.”

I collect my thoughts, trying to piece my questions about Suzuha’s existence together in a form that a layperson could easily understand.

_ “Are you familiar with the Summon app? If not, then nothing you say could provide any value. Also, I would appreciate a cold DK Pepper, if at all possible.” _

 “DK…? Uh, sure thing. And yes, I know a thing or two about the app.”

I look out to my cohorts, who are currently chatting amongst themselves. Suzuha doesn’t appear to be taking much stock in the conversation though, instead looking out the window to the mass of bizarre people-like beings in the streets.

_ “Speaking entirely hypothetically here, would it be possible for one to summon an existence that isn’t real?” _

She hands me a cup of a sparkling liquid. The sweet and intellectual taste of DK Pepper runs down my parched throat. Even in such a world, this sweet nectar remains a constant.

 “Depends what you mean. You can’t summon something that doesn’t exist anywhere, after all.”

_ “What if they existed somewhere, then were essentially erased from existence due to… certain actions?” _

I would think such a bold declaration would merit some amount of surprised reaction from the girl, perhaps even fear or confusion. Instead, she has the audacity to smile at me.

 “Oh, is that all you meant?”

What on Earth is that supposed to mean? Surely something like that couldn’t be a common occurrence in this mirror-Tokyo. Or could it? Could there be other people here with the ability to tamper with worldlines? If so, then this is a dangerous realm. I know more than anyone how dangerous it can be to try and control time.

 “So long as they existed at some point or another, it’s definitely possible to bring them here. All that’s really important is some ‘bond’ that they had with someone who exists in this world. So long as that connection exists, then you can essentially pluck them out from nothing, no matter where they were or at what point in time they’re from. Does that make sense?”

Vast though my knowledge may be, there is much I have to learn about the secrets of this world and, specifically, this app. At the very least, I don’t believe I have any reason to doubt her words, not when she says them so factually. Although…

_ “I thank you, o serendipitous bloom. Unfortunately, I’m afraid I cannot merely take your words at face value without knowing the basis for why you know such specific details.” _

 “…”

She dares not even look at me! Could it be that my suspicions were right!? This simple waitress was trying to delude us the whole time, to make us waltz right into The Organization’s-

 “Sorry. That’s… not important.”

I remember what the Twilit Summoner mentioned earlier. This girl is clearly hiding something. Perhaps it could be related to that beast she brings up on occasion?

_ “Does it have anything to do with a… what was it, a water buffalo?” _

 “It might, but that’s too long of a story.”

Just then, I get a buzz on on my phone. From the notification, I can tell it’s from Mayuri via the summon app. It’s probably best to reply sooner rather than later, knowing her.

________________________________

Mayushii: Okarin, are you almost done? This ramen is super tasty! If you’re still back there with her, thank her for me, ok? Oh! But don’t stay back there for too long, Cris might get jealous!

Hououin Kyouma: Fret not, Mayuri. I have gleaned important information from this “Aseko” Character. I will return momentarily- and I assure you, this exchange we are having is strictly professional.

Mayuri: ( ´∀｀) okie dokie!

________________________________

Just where does Mayuri get such fanciful ideas from? I put my phone in my pocket and down the rest of my soda.

_ “My close associate, Mayuri, wishes for you to know that the ramen is sublime. Would you mind if I got a refill? I need to stockpile my energy so my peerless brain can function at peak efficiency.” _

 “Sure thing. If you don’t have any more questions, you can go back and sit down with the others. I’ll bring out another glass.”

_ “Much obliged.” _

I may have questions, but I feel that she won’t answer most of them. As I turn around, I dramatically turn my head back to her, a subtle smirk on my face.

_ “You wouldn’t happen to be an Organization dog, would you?” _

 “Nah, I tend to work alone.”

Cryptic. But the way she delivered it was so final, I have no choice but to continue my walk outside with a boastful laugh. Why am I laughing? Purely because my excellent information retrieval plan worked out perfectly. As I reach the table with the lab mems, I pull out my phone and lift it to my ear.

_ “It’s me again. I have retrieved some valuable information- confidential information- that I will send to you as soon as I have a free moment. Yes. I understand. My source appears to be credible. I don’t believe she works for the Organization, but take what I send with a grain of salt- we never know who might be thorns hidden amongst the roses. El Psy Kongroo.” _

 “How was your chat?”

_ “I ascertained vital information for our cause. Now that I know more pivotal information, we can rest easy.” _

”What are we resting from?”

_ “Nothing that you have to worry about, Mayuri. I, Hououin Kyouma, have dealt with matters personally.” _

 “That’s good! Mayushii was getting worried, you looked so tense for a while!”

It makes perfect logical sense that I am quite relieved at this news. My lab mems are an invaluable part of my plan for world conquest, after all. There’s definitely no other reason.

 “Okabe Rintarou.”

_ “Er, yes? What is it, Working Warrior?” _

Could it be that she’s pieced together her own peculiar existence? I had hoped to keep it more secret until the right moment, but-

 “I’ve always admired people’s freedom back in the… real Tokyo, but this is absurd.”

_ “How do you mean?” _

 “There’s such a thing as freedom and just being ridiculous. Do you know how many furries I’ve seen wearing next to nothing? At least twelve. An entire dozen! In the past minute!”

 “You get used to it.”

 “I’m not just talking about shirtless, there was a purple-furred wolf…  thing … with literally his entire ass out.”

 “He must be really dedicated!”

 “Ah, that’d be Bathym, I think. You’re definitely right about him being dedicated. He’s friendly if you talk to him, though!”

 “I’m really not sure how I feel about this.”

Aseko steps over, holding a new glass of DK Pepper. She sets it down in front of me and pulls up a chair.

 “Something wrong?”

 “…It’s fine. Just people… living their life, I guess.”

Aseko chuckles, leaning forward on the table and looking out the window.

 “This world is something else, you know. All these different people from different worlds and circumstances join together and making bonds despite their differences. Everyone’s free to be themselves, you know? It’s incredible, really. Almost anyone, anyway.”

 “Well, it certainly feels pretty laid back. Modesty aside, no one out there looks… really frustrated, you know?”

 “I think it’s great! Everyone seems so happy! Hehe, I bet Faris and Ruka would love it here!”

I can hardly imagine the complexity of Faris’s delusions were she to appear here as well. It’s one thing to play make-believe about being a cat-human alien from Jupiter or whatever she had concocted last time we spoke, but if she were to realize that there are actual cat girls and aliens, well…

_ “Let us hope that they remain as our line of defense at the Future Gadget Lab of Steins Gate. We can only pray that the Organization hasn’t made a move under the realization that I am no longer there to oppose their devious will.” _

 “I guess you’re right.”

 “Oh, before I forget- this is all going on your tab, Shizuo.”

 “Aw, but I didn’t even order anything-”

 “Maybe not, but you certainly have a big mouth.”

 “I, uh… gah. Fine.”

Ah. Perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned that water buffalo. No matter, this will be the Twilit Summoner’s first sacrifice to our noble cause.

He sighs, pulls out a wallet, and hands her a few notes. She smiles and slips them into her coat pocket.

 “Much obliged.”

Following this, we broke into mindless chatter. Mayuri talked with Shizuo about some angelic idol he apparently knows- further proof that I made the right choice in adding someone with such connections to our numbers. I’m not quite sure what idols can do to help us, but their fans are a powerful weapon no matter what time or world we’re in.

Aseko and Suzuha, meanwhile, talked about the different people passing by the window. At some point, their conversation wrapped around to whoever “Bathym” is.

 “You mean to tell me that naked purple guy is from Hell?”

 “It goes by Gehenna here but, yeah, pretty much. There are even people from a place called ‘Eden,’ which is basically the opposite. You know, Heaven and ‘righteous’ stuff to that nature.”

 “What, so we’re going to run into Satan at some point?”

 “Going to?”

 “Er, what’s that supposed to mean?”

She looks like she’s got something on the tip of her tongue, but then looks over to Shizuo.

 “I mean, he’s sitting right across from you… in a way.”

For a second, my brain freezes up. Sitting right across from Suzuha was Shizuo, who had paused his conversation with Mayuri to stare blankly at Aseko. There’s no way this simple kid could be someone as infamous as-

 “Oh, come on. I’m only, like, a little bit Satan.”

I just instated Satan as a lab mem.

  “I’m going to need a bit more context on that.”

Suzuha is saying what we are all thinking.

 “Ooh! That girl out there has some shiny blue horns! I should take some notes for cosplays once we get back home!”

What most of us are thinking.

 “I’m a mess.”

 “Also true.  _Technically_  he just has Satan- well,  _Shaytan’s_ soul pushed into him. There’s a few others too, like Freyr and Eurynome.”

 “How much is ‘a few’?”

 “Somewhere over 23. Doing something like that while leaving behind a functioning person is very difficult to do, you know. The chance of success for that is something like one in thirty-three thousand. Or at least, that’s what I heard.”

 “Scary.”

I briefly wonder if Kurisu has stumbled across this line of questioning. Knowing her, she must have brought it up when examining that demon dog. Evidently, souls are very real and observable in this world, and can even be manipulated. Perhaps the knowledge we gain here could be used to our advantage once we return to Steins Gate.

I laugh.

 “Okarin?”

_ “Haha… gahahaha! This… this is truly the will of Steins;Gate! To be summoned by a guild leader who also bears the devil’s own luck…!” _

I take a moment to pose dramatically and marvel at my own cleverness.

_ “Twilit Summoner! It is time for us to return to your dorm! We have much work to do!” _

 “Yes! I- er, wait. What are we doing?”

I point out the window, past the throng of peculiarly-dressed individuals, human and not, back to the school from whence we came.

_ “It’s time to create the next evolution of our base of operation. By the stream of fate, the will of Steins;Gate, we will transform your dorm room into Future Gadget Lab: Shinjuku Division!” _

 


	3. Future Gadget Lab: Shinjuku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Future Gadget Lab is finally rebuilt, albeit in a particularly temporary and shoddy manner. Let the roundtable conference begin!

I burst back into the lab, my lab coat flying in my wake. I come to a screeching halt before one of the desks then throw my head backward, my laugh calling to the heavens.

Well, that or Eden. Not sure how that plays into everything now.

 “Okabe?”

Kurisu and Daru are the only ones in the lab, to my surprise.

_ “Haha… hahahah! Cristina, Supah Hakah! I trust you sufficiently picked the brains of those two?” _

 “I did. I found out-”

_ “Not so fast, assistant! Save your discoveries for our roundtable conference!” _

 “At least pick one thing and stick to it.”

At this point, Daru shut off the computer he was at and turned around.

 “You don’t mean…”

_ “Hahahah, of course! The Future Gadget Lab may remain in our humble Tokyo, but its spirit continues through us! We will create a new base of operations using the dorm our faithful servant, Twilit Summoner, is providing for us.” _

 “I’m going to take a lucky guess and say that this wasn’t his idea.”

_ “Of course this is not his idea. This is the idea of Steins;Gate itself! Now come, let us return to our home ground.” _

 “Whatever you say, Okarin.”

Excellent. I’m counting on Kurisu and Daru to give me the details they’ve scavenged from the demon dog and his cohort.

It doesn’t take long for us to reach the dorm room. The room inside has had most of its furniture moved aside or evicted, and cardboard boxes rose up to the ceiling. There was a shower curtain strung up in a similar way to the one we had back in the original lab, and even a bathroom. This is just as I, Hououin Kyouma, envisioned.

 “Welcome homekarin!”

_ “Greetings, Mayuri. It appears everything is going according to my plan.” _

 “Yup! The bathroom is so much better than the one back at the lab… I’m jealous.”

I’m sure this is an overstatement.

 “It’s pretty cool that a simple dorm room like this has such a nice bathroom. It’s all white and clean, too. Maybe cleaning supplies are higher quality in this world since there are so many different types of people.”

I take a look inside the bathroom. I am forced to admit that it is spectacularly better than the one at the original Future Gadget Lab.

_ “Bah, what matter does it make? We are on the track of world domination! Clearly, we must prioritize one over the other.” _

 “I vote for bathroom.”

 “Hmph. If only more people had that sense.”

 “I think you’re outvoted, Okarin.”

Once again, those around me ignore my genius.

 “Shizuo should be getting back soon with your soda, Okarin.”

 “He said you told him to get something else, too. What’s that?”

I laugh once again, flourishing over the makeshift lab.

_ “All in good time, Mayuri. All in good time. Once the Twilit Summoner returns with the DK Pepper-” _

 “Uh, Okarin? About that-”

_ “Hold your tongue, Supah Hakah. We will discuss everything when the time comes.” _

 “What happened to my room!?”

I turn around to welcome lab mem 00-Zero into the next chapter of his life.

_ “I see you have completed your first task! Well done. You bear potential, o Twilit-” _

 “How many tasks are my first task? I paid for your food, fetched you these things, and now you’ve torn apart my room? And can’t you just call me by name? ‘Twilit Summoner’ is kind of a mouthful.”

 “That’s Okabe for you.”

_ “Stifle your words, Cristina! It’s time for the 83rd Future Gadget Lab roundtable conference to begin!” _

 “Woah! There’s been that many?”

 “Mayushii thought we were on number 92…”

 “This table still isn’t round.”

I ignore the naysayers and turn to Shizuo, my arm outstretched.

_ “Now, bestow upon us the fruits of your labors! Grant us that armor that transcends sheer destiny. The white cloth which binds our sentience to this very plane-” _

Shizuo anticlimactically tosses the bag to Kurisu. She reaches inside and seizes that which she came here without.

 “Oh, a lab coat! Nice. Thanks, Shizuo.”

She puts on the coat and sets the bag on the table, which collapses due to its disappointing lack of contents. I take a step back in shock.

_ “What is this!? Just a single lab coat? Did I not tell you that we would need that most sacred of armor to protect us from the Organization?” _

 “Yeah, yeah. I could only afford one, though. If I got more then I wouldn’t have been able to afford any Dr. Pepper.”

My blood freezes in its tracks, my very marrow begins to quake. What had he just said?  Doctor Pepper?

_ “Who is this ‘Doctor Pepper’?” _

He reaches into the bag and hands Kurisu a bottle of soda, labeled similar to the DK Pepper I know and love, but is instead called “Dr. Pepper.”

Kurisu glances at the infernal label, removes the lid, and takes a sip. She looks back over to me, her stoic expression betraying none of the burning curiosity that she must be feeling. I can’t be the only one confused… can I? No. I am not confused, it is this very  world  that is confused.

_ “You there!” _

 “Uh, yes?”

_ “What is this? I specifically requested DK Pepper, did I not?” _

 “Chill out. It’s clearly just some bootleg. You can’t get the name brand stuff all the time, it’s more expensive.”

I’m about to concede that she may have something of a point- though surely the quality would be more than worth the added cost. That is, before our newest member shatters my reality in two.

 “Is, uh, ‘DK Pepper’ a local thing for you?”

I have no doubt that, were I in some overly comical television show, there would be a record scratch sound effect at this very moment.

 “Um, you’re joking, right? It’s a pretty big deal back in the states…”

It is now that Daru grabs a bottle of this ‘Doctor Pepper’ swill, takes off the top, then takes a swig. His face contorts in a grimace and he nods at the bag Shizuo is still holding.

 “Yeah dude, it tastes the same as DK Pepper. Like carbonated medicine.”

 Shizuo hands me a bottle for myself to experiment with. I sputter the moment the fizzing liquid touches my tongue.

_ “This tastes the exact same as DK Pepper! No, it doesn’t merely taste the same- it must be the same!” _

 “If you like it, why did you spit it out?”

I am blown away by this drink. How is it possible that they perfectly replicated the life-giving nectar that is DK Pepper?

I lift my phone to my ear.

_ “It’s me. Somehow, the Organization has made an unprecedented action in this mirror-Tokyo. Where the once powerful drink DK Pepper reigned, we instead have a mockery, a pale imitation of its true self. It goes by the name… Doctor Pepper. If you have any information about this matter, alert me at once. El Psy Kongroo.” _

I put down my phone and reluctantly drink more bootleg DK Pepper.

 “This world is a bit different than we thought, Okarin.”

Well, clearly. I’m not even sure that Daru realizes that he’s sitting on Satan’s bed. Or, Shaytan. I’m not sure if there’s a difference.

_ “What, exactly, do you mean?” _

 “A few things. One of them is pretty relevant to your addiction with that drink.”

I scoff. I am not  addicted . I can quit whenever I so choose.

 “It looks like there are a few things that don’t exist in this world- well, I guess they could just be renamed.”

_ “Beyond DK Pepper, what else?” _

 “Well, off the top of my head… @channel is gone.”

 “W-What?”

_ “I suppose that would strike a chord with you, @channeler Cris-” _

 “T-That’s not the point! Why would something like that even change?”

 “Beats me. It’s honestly pretty hard to dig up information.”

Difficult for our Supah Hakah? To be able to impede him is a powerful feat in and of itself. No doubt, the Organization must have upped their arsenal.

_ “What could possibly stop you from gaining what knowledge you so desire? After all, you are our-” _

 “If you say ‘Supah Hakah’ again, I’m knocking your bottle of soda over.”

I laugh amicably but pick up my bootleg DK Pepper from off the table. I cannot risk it, his threat is far too serious.

 “You were paying attention to what Shiro said earlier, right? There are these massive walls around Tokyo keeping anything and everything in and out. Seems that doesn’t just apply to living things. We can get trickles of information through the web, but it has some serious protection. It’s like everything being sent or retrieved is being forced through a single channel.”

_ “Ah, I understand now. Whatever powers-that-be are filtering the content we receive. And here I was, nearly deluding myself that this world is remarkably peaceful. Yet, even here, the Organization lurks.” _

 “Can’t say I like that.”

 “Anyway, I couldn’t get that much info.”

 “He certainly got enough to know that the censorship limits are way freer than they were in our Tokyo. He blurted out something about an eroge he likes being completely uncensored while I was in the middle of asking that dog some questions.”

 “I like this world, Okarin.”

_ “Your porn aside, what else is different?” _

 “Uh, let’s see. I can’t find any mention of Oopas anywhere. Sorry, Mayushii. Aside from that…”

 “Oopa…”

 “Oh, there was at least one other change. You know that research org over in Europe? The one that had that moe-as-hell particle accelerator?”

It feels as if my stomach has flipped over.

_ “SERN?” _

I’m hoping he’ll correct me to talk about some other research group based in Europe that also happens to have a particle accelerator.

Suzuha herself is standing up, her eyes locked on Daru.

 “W-What!? What happened with SERN?”

 “W-Woah, calm down! It’s nothing too big. SERN is called ‘C E R N’ here and they haven’t even started testing with the LHC.”

Suzuha breathes out a sigh of relief and sits down.

 “So SERN hasn’t even had any time to experiment… Guess when the world is overrun by beast… people… they never had the chance.”

_ “And with the walls blocked off like they are, there’s no chance of World War lll.” _

 “Oh, right. You mentioned that back on @channel. Something about the other Titor.”

 “You’re on @channel too?”

 “I don’t remember any Titor though.”

 “I  know  you’ve argued with me, Makise Kurisu. Or, should I say, ‘KuriGohan and Kamehameha’.”

 “W-What-? How could you-”

 “I know a lot of things about you, Makise Kurisu.”

_ “Haha… hahahah! Do you truly not grasp what has transpired?” _

 “Nope!”

Thank you, Mayuri.

_ “Ahem-! Then allow me to explain. Amane Suzuha here traveled to the year of 2010 to seek out her father, though her true goal was to provide an IBM 5100 to us in the past so we could undo a future in which SERN is the supreme ruler of a dystopic society.” _

 “Why would SERN-”

 “Okabe Rintarou. Why do you know this?”

_ “You should already be aware of my ability, ‘Reading Steiner’-” _

 “Reading stoner?”

_ “STEINer. It allows me to observe when a worldline changes, as well as retain all my memories from before the shift, even when no one else could. Only I remember from both the β and α worldlines.” _

 “W-Wait, so you’re not from the β worldline? Does that mean I… I succeeded? Why am I still here?”

 “I can answer that.”

I jump as the waitress from before so rudely intrudes in our conference.

_ “Why, if it isn’t the Maiden of Secrets-!” _

 “That’s a new one.”

 “Why, hello there. Okarin, aren’t you going to introduce us?”

I groan.

_ “Her identity is of little relevance! What matters is that the secrecy of our roundtable conference has been compromised! We cannot allow for non-lab mems to be present so as to keep all ties to the Organization at a minimum.” _

 “Your door was open.”

 “Tutturu~! Hey Aseko!”

 “Hello, Mayuri.”

_ “Earth to lab mems, I just said-” _

“Calm down, Okabe. Let’s just say I’m… using Shizuo’s membership for a bit.”

 “Not that I’m particularly excited about being the number zero.”

_ “Fine, but-” _

 “Okabe Rintarou, please shut your mouth. Aseko, was it? What were you about to say?”

Two people cannot share a single membership, the very notion is absurd! However, I deign to let her explain. Sometimes a leader must make sacrifices to their own order in order to further along their ideals. I laugh and sit down, waving my arm toward the waitress.

_ “Go ahead, maiden. Divulge the secrets of this world.” _

 “I’ve already told Okabe this when he asked, but it’s technically possible to summon people that no longer exist so long as you have a strong enough bond with them.”

 “Well, maybe it’s a bit less straightforward than that. You can’t summon someone you believe to be entirely dead, for instance. If you merely wiped her existence away, it’s not like she died. She still exists in your memories, so she still exists… somewhere. You just kinda pulled her out from that… somewhere. Does that make sense?”

_ “So you’re saying my connection with her in the β worldline is why she’s here? That must be why she’s in that form, as well.” _

 “What exactly is this ‘β word line’?”

 “Sigh… Okabe, are you sure she’s trustworthy?”

_ “Of course. I would trust her with my life.” _

 “A-Ah, uh…”

_ “…After all, she is the most useful assistant that I have immediately available!” _

“Aw, Okarin! That was almost sweet.”

 “‘Almost’ being a key word.”

To say that Makise Kurisu is one of the most important- if not the single most important- woman in the world to me would not be an understatement. Once we got to the Steins Gate worldline, however, most of our memories together only reside with me. She may remember things at times, but our relationship isn’t quite the same as it was in the β line. Maybe one day…

At the very least, it’s always fun to tease my assistant.

 “Gah, fine. Listen up…”

She then launches into an explanation of world lines, which I pay very little attention to. After all, there are very few more familiar with them than myself. I’ve jumped through far too many of them not to. The explanation is just like the one we heard from her back when we were trying to prevent Mayuri’s death. In little time at all, she had finished.

 “Interesting. The world itself makes up for any potential paradoxes, huh? It hardly sounds real, but…”

 “...But we’re surrounded by half-or-entirely-naked anthropomorphic animals and we have Satan as a lab mem. Honestly, worldline mechanics are practically normal compared to all of this.”

 “ Sigh .”

 “Er, could you run that by me again?”

 “Yeah, I thought those two from earlier weren’t wearing much, but at least  _they_   had jackets on. Some people don’t even have that much! It’s weird, but-”

 “Satan.”

 “Oh. That. Whoops.”

 “Oh, it’s not that big a deal. So what if he has Satan’s soul in him?”

_ “This is getting woefully off topic. Yes, the Twilit Summoner has quite a few different souls in him.” _

 “I picked up on the existence of souls from Shiro, but… wow, ok.”

 “I guess this isn’t the weirdest thing so far.”

Aseko pulls out a bottle of bootleg DK Pepper from the bag, unscrews the cap, then takes a swig. Judging from her expression, she happens to like the drink. Good. Perhaps one day I can introduce her to the much-better DK Pepper from my own world.

 “Hey, so you said you all are from the ‘Steins Gate’ worldline but Suzuha is from a different one, right?”

_ “That appears to be the case, yes.” _

 “It’s so nice to know I succeeded, hehe.”

 “Er, yeah. It’s nice to get another chance, too. I wonder…”

Something about her expression intrigues me, but before I can ask about it, Kurisu speaks up.

 “Hey, Okabe. You remember that ‘Divergence Meter’ thing you mentioned earlier?”

I’m reminded of the box that spawned into appearance with the mention of that role and rule. The letters on it still confuse me, but I feel like the answer to that dilemma is on the tip of my tongue.

_ “Yes? What of it?” _

She pulls out a phone identical to my own and opens up the Summons app. Her face twitches in a moment of irritation.

 “Mine says… ugh… ‘Role of the Assistant, Rule of Time,’ see? You can see our roles and rules from the app since we’re all automatically part of this Future Gadget Lab guild. And when I invoke those words…”

She holds out her hand and the divergence meter flashes into her hand in an instant.

_ “So we all share the same… what was it, ‘Sacred Artifact’? What’s so important about that?” _

 “I tried this back when I was still talking with Shiro and Moritaka. Apparently, it’s not normal for more than one person to have the same artifact at the same time. Mayuri, you try.”

 “Oh, ok! Let’s see, where is it…”

She taps over to the screen listing her own role and rule.

 “Role of the Hostage, Rule of Time?”

The box vanishes from Kurisu’s hand and reappears in Mayuri’s.

 “I did it!”

Ha, it appears whoever decides upon these names has a sense of humor, though it’s unnerving that they are privy to our very lives. After all, me as the observer, Mayuri as the hostage, and Kurisu as the assistant… It’s far too much to be a coincidence. I imagine Daru and Suzuha have the roles of Hakah- er, ‘Hacker’ and ‘Warrior’ respectively- a hypothesis that is confirmed by just glancing at the app.

 “Whatever artifact this is, we all have it. I also can’t find any apparent use for it, despite what Shiro said about each artifact having its own influence on the rules of the world. It just kinda… exists.”

 “I don’t know, you could throw it at someone. Sounds like a helpful tool to me.”

 “You guys sure don’t play by the usual rules. Sharing a powerless artifact, being so connected right from the get go, then that stuff about not being able to be desummoned-”

 “What’s that? You can’t manually end the contract?”

Shizuo walks over to Aseko and points to a spot on his phone. She rubs her shoulder, then looks away.

 “…Hm. I have to go check something. I’ll see you later, ok?”

Then, without even a glance at us, she turns around and exits the room.

 “That’s not ominous.”

I’m inclined to agree with Suzuha’s remark. Not only did she leave without telling us why, but she also was privy to the entire conference without being a lab mem! I’ll have to formally indict her later. With any luck, she isn’t some wicked demon from an obscure myth or, worse, an Organization spy.

 “Aw… we coulda got another lab mem!”

 “She didn’t seem too hyped by the idea, not that I can blame her.”

I swirl my drink around dramatically, staring at the Divergence Meter in Mayuri’s hand. A metaphorical strike of lightning shoots down my spine, jolting my memory. I look to Suzuha, a slightly smug grin on my face.

 “What’s with the creepy smile?”

_ “Hahaha! Your pin! It is the same, is it not?” _

 “Oh, right. It is, isn’t it? It’s from my father, you know.”

_ “Fufufu… Each of those initials represents one of our lab members.” _

 “Okarin, Mayushii, Daru, Cris, then Suzu on the end?”

 “Why would my dad have-”

Curses! This isn’t where I wanted this conversation to turn at all. It’s too early for Suzuha to learn of her father’s existence in this world, of that I am sure. It’s getting late as it is- we ate up too much time planning this extremely fruitful conference.

_ “Why, yes. Gaze upon the device and see how there are precisely eight bulbs! I hypothesize that each one of those correlates to a missing lab member!” _

 “Faris, Ruka… Moeka?”

I haven’t discussed Kiryuu Moeka in much detail with them, but sometimes others will recall things from that β worldline. It’s something I’ve noticed- while I still retain all of my memories, others will still recall specific things. In Mayuri’s case, it’s usually about the other lab mems or about the times she died due to worldline convergence.

 “Isn’t Moeka just that part-timer at Mr. Braun’s shop?”

 “Guess she took my place after I disappeared.”

_ “Precisely so, Mayuri! Those lights are dimmed out now because the Future Gadget Lab is not truly complete without all its members! This must be a puzzle- no, a test! We will solve it and put back together the lab. Then, and only then, will we be able to return to the Tokyo from whence we came! Hahahah!” _

 “Is that how this works?”

Probably not, but it’s better than working off of nothing. Of course, I don’t say this. It would be unwise to display any such weakness to my trusted lab mems.

 “He’s obviously bluffing, at least about the last part. He might be onto something about these lab mems, though.”

 “But Okarin, would they even be here?”

_ “Undoubtedly! Do you doubt my prestigious mind!?” _

 “Far too often.”

_ “Gah, stifle your tongue, assistant! Those lights are lit in the exact order of the pins, so they must be connected to this as well.” _

 “Sounds reasonable to me. But if Shizuo didn’t summon them, where could they be?”

 “Oh, there’s loads of places. Not sure why I’d get the five of you then leave the other three behind, but maybe that’s just because I ran out of summons. Luck, you know? Someone else might have summoned them!”

 “Ooh~! Faris has to be having a great time!”

A small seed of dread begins to weigh in the pit of my stomach. It feels right that they would be here, somewhere… but where? And would anything I do be able to stop Faris’s delusional rampage?

 My rapid thoughts were interrupted by a knocking at the door.

 “Shizuo? It’s getting… Ah, you three. Five, even?”

 “Tutturu~!”

 “Heh, a new world can be quite shocking, so it’s nice to see that you’re taking it well.”

I take a step back.

_ “How could you know of our predicament? Could you perhaps have the eye of-” _

 “Nothing that dramatic, I’m afraid. I just tend to remember faces, and yours happen to be unfamiliar. That’s all.”

I’m a little let down, but I’d prefer not to lower my guard against this adversary. Just to be safe, I put my empty bottle of bootleg DK Pepper into a recycling bin.

 “Ah, Mr. Mononobe? Are there any open dorms?”

 “Sure, there are a couple of empty ones down the hall. Both of them have two beds, thankfully.”

 “They’re not co-ed though, so keep that in mind.”

 “Is it really ok if we just take the rooms?”

 “Sure. Make yourselves at home. If you need anything, I’ll be over in the administration building.”

With that, he walks out of the room- possibly to check on the others staying here.

 “Convenient. Why is his shirt like that?”

 “I asked the same exact thing, but he just walked off. Honestly, it didn’t even sound like he knows himself.”

 “If only there were a moe bunny teacher with big honkers-”

_ “Cease your whining. Dusk beckons, but tomorrow we will rise at the crack of dawn and explore this mirror-Tokyo! We must reunite with our fellow lab mems. Then I, Hououin Kyouma, will seize the power to control the will of Steins;Gate itself! Hahahahah!” _

 “Mayushii thought we were going home. I miss my Oopas…”

 “Hm.”

 “Can’t we sleep in…?”

 “Wake me at your own peril, Okabe.”

_ “Fine, fine. We’ll get up at the crack of… 2:30. Happy?” _

 “Sleep tight, Okabe. Don’t let the bed bugs-”

 “Wait, are bed bugs a thing here? Are there… bed bug transients?”

 “Bug transients in general are pretty rare, so I don’t think you’re hurting anyone’s feelings.”

 “…What a weird world.”

 “My dreams are going to be filled with half-naked furries.”

 “I hate to say it, but same.”

 “I can’t wait to look around tomorrow! I bet we’ll find them real fast, you’ll see!”

The three set off down the hall. I have no doubts that Suzuha will choose to sleep on the floor- she’s used to such tactics.

_ “Come, Daru. With any luck, we’ll have dreamless sleep as well.” _

 “Speak for yourself, I saw the wildest-”

_ “Forget I even mentioned anything.” _

Today we became familiar with this world we washed up, but tomorrow- oh yes, tomorrow will be a new day. The Future Gadget Lab will return to its true strength- or my name isn’t Hououin Kyouma!


	4. Collapse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The quest to return to Okabe's Tokyo begins.

Early the next morning, we reconvene in the freshly-built Future Gadget Labs. We have quite the arduous task ahead of us, and I, for one, believe we must sieze this bull by the horns! Not a literal one, of course, as I’m sure there are many in this bizarre city.

 “So you want to find your friends?”

I scoff.

_ “I need to find my fellow lab mems! Only then will the future gadget lab truly be complete.” _

 “And you know they’re here?”

_ “Of course! I can feel the very will of Steins;Gate. I am sure that Ruka Urushibara, Moeka Kiryu, and Akiha Rumiho are within this very world.” _

 “I think we’d probably find Faris faster if we looked for Faris instead of her name.”

Every once in a while, Mayuri does have a pretty good point. In this world, I can’t imagine Faris NyanNyan to introduce herself as Akiha Rumiho.

 “Well then, maybe we should look around? I know quite a few people, maybe they know who you’re talking about!”

_ “Mayhaps. Come, assistant, let us embark to discover the whereabouts of our comrades-” _

 “Actually, I’ve got an appointment… of sorts.”

 “Ooh, already slipping her way in, eh? Man, tough luck, Okarin-”

An appointment? Whatever for? Perhaps something like this would have been within the realm of possibility in the Tokyo we were from, but no one here should know of her reputation.

_ “Stop thy tongue! Tell me. What sort of beast have you become acquainted with, Cristina? I was not aware that you’re a furry on top of an @channel-er-” _

 “Oh shut up, dumbass. I am  not  a furry. I just… think they’re neat. That’s all.”

 “Does it get stuffy inside that closet?”

 “Hmph. In any case, I’ve been invited to a place called Ueno Academy to meet with some guy called ‘Leib’.”

_ “Summoner, have you heard of this place?” _

 “...No…?”

 “What is that supposed to mean?”

 “Um… I don’t think I remember it, but… I don’t know. I feel kinda… deja-vu… ey? You know?”

Hm. “Deja vu,” something that our very own Kurisu theorized has to do with my  _Reading Steiner_   ability. Could there be some similar time-related mischief- no. I must be overthinking it.

 “…It’s been happening more and more recently…”

Regardless of whether or not my fears are unfounded, that isn’t a good sign.

 “What does this ‘Leib’ guy want with you? Is it safe to go? For all you know, you might be walking into the heart of enemy territory.”

 “I’d like to think I can handle myself. As for what he wants…”

”Well, I’m not even sure about that, myself. If you’re that concerned about me, how about someone comes with me?”

I’m just about to argue more with her when the door to Shizuo’s room- er, the Future Gadget Labs- opens up. In walks that mysterious girl from before.

 “Sup. You ready to leave?”

 “Tutturu~!”

 “Nice to see you, Mayuri.”

_ “Have you been spying on us, yet again?” _

 “Again? No...t as far as I know.”

Vague.

 “Nah, I’m just here to escort Kurisu to Ueno Academy. I know the way there like the back of my hand.”

_ “The backs of your hands that you keep covered? How well does that mean you know the way?” _

 “Ah, bad example. The point is, I know the way.”

 “Oh, good. See? It’s fine. Have fun and try not to scare everyone away with your pretentious hipster bullshit, ok?”

* * *

 

Standing before us was a nun or… perhaps a student. This group, called the “Aoyama Missionaries” was just one of the places Shizuo had fondly mentioned before.

 “Shizuo, who might these all be?”

Her tone gives me an odd sense of peace, like I could leave anything to her and it would turn out perfectly fine.

 “Everyone, meet Maria! She’s the acting guildmaster of the Missionaries.”

He then carelessly gave her our names. I’d even warned him not to do so on the way here, but alas.

 “Cute…!”

_ “Hahahah! My most hallowed of names is that of Hououin Kyouma! I am a force of pure chaos, hell-bent on the destruction of this naive world! Tremble in fear at my fearsome presence! Bwahahahah!” _

Maria waits for a bit, surely stunned by my introduction. I do tend to have that powerful effect on people. Then, unbelievably, she has the nerve to start  clapping.

 “That was a nice speech! How often do you practice?”

 “Once every few minutes, really.”

_ “Bite your tongue, working warrior! That was no mere ‘speech,’ Maria- if that’s even your real name. It is my true calling, my most absolute of destinies! This world will bend its knee to the velvet words that escape my lips!” _

 “I don’t think so.”

_ “And what, pray tell, do you mean by that? I advise you to choose your words correctly, or I may have no choice but to assume you a part of the Organization.” _

 “I have met a lot of people who say something just like what you did, but they seemed… different from you. Mr. Kyouma, I don’t believe you have any sort of ‘evil’ in your heart.”

I don’t reply. What sort of people has this girl met to have such knowledge over true intents of the heart?

 “…But, if you don’t mind me saying… It does feel like you’re carrying something rather heavy there instead.”

 “Okarin…”

I cough.

_ “W-Well, never you mind! We have something more pressing than whatever preconceived notions you may have about my emotional state. Tell me, Maria, do you know where I might find Moeka Kiryu, Ruka Urushibara, or Faris NyanNyan? Faris also goes by Akiha Rumiho-” _

  “Ruka Urushibara, you say?”

I am momentarily taken aback. I hadn’t expected the very first person we encounter to know of my comrade. This must truly be the divine will of Steins;Gate- my very mission to reunite my lab to its former glory must be the course destined for myself.

 “Ooh! That was fast! We’re going to get everyone together in no time, hehe~”

 “If you will pardon me, I can go bring her over here!”

_ “Consider yourself pardoned, o saintly one.” _

She gives us a small bow and leaves. Just as I’m wondering if we’ve walked directly into the trap of the organization, she comes back. By her side is a familiar feminine face.

Ruka Urushibara, otherwise known as “Rukako”, is lab mem 006. A beautiful paragon to the very concept of femininity, incredibly charming in personality and appearance alike. Were Rukako to enter into a beauty pageant, all competitors would stand no chance.

And also… a dude.

One of the most virtuous people I have ever known, bearing a smile that tends to set the heart at ease. The truest fit for “shrinemaiden” the world has ever seen.

A dude.

In one of the worldlines before I reached Steins Gate, Rukako was female as a result of our meddling with the flow of time itself. In order to revert the change, I had to… well, I suppose “had” is not quite the correct word. I had every opportunity to turn him- or her- down, after all.

But still, a dude.

 “Okabe-?”

_ “Hush now, Rukako! Refer to me by my true name, Hououin Kyouma! If you do not, then we shall all surely fall to the Organization’s dark and devious machinations.” _

 “O-Oh, of course! Sorry, Kyouma.”

_ “Pray tell, how did you happen upon this world?” _

 “Hm… that’s a good question. I remember having a weird dream where you needed my help for something…?”

Oh? Now this is something new entirely. None of the other lab mems remembered anything other than foolishly signing into a contract. Well, except Mayuri and the promise of food. Then again, it sounded like Suzuha had a moment of confusion.

_ “Fascinating. Rukako, you may very well be the key we needed all along!” _

 “We’ve only been here for about a day.”

_ “And if you’re locked outside of your home for a day, would you not desperately search for the way in?” _

 “I- hm. Not bad. I’ll give you that.”

I let out a boisterous, imposing laugh and turn back to Rukako.

_ “If you could remember, what would that ‘help’ be?” _

 “I’m sorry, Oka- er, Kyouma. I can’t remember. Honestly, I don’t remember much of anything until I got here.”

Maria chimed in at this moment.

 “I found him stumbling around that park near Shinjuku about a week ago now.”

 “That park…?”

_ “Is there something special about that park?” _

 “Er, nothing. Probably just a coincidence.”

Hm. I get the feeling that, whatever it is, it’s not actually a coincidence. I don’t do well with  coincidences.  Regardless, now that we have lab mem 006, we can return to our place of operations.

_ “Let us return to the Future Gadget Lab!” _

 “You mean you have a way back to our Tokyo??”

 “Not yet, silly! That’s just what Okarin is calling Shizuo’s dorm.”

 “It’s kinda cozy, but the bathroom’s nice. The teachers there are wearing pretty questionable clothes, though.”

Ruka looked at Suzuha then Shizuo as if just seeing them for the first time.

 “Oh, I’m sorry! Who are you two?”

 “Hah… I guess it makes sense you wouldn’t remember me.”

 “Oh, I’m sorry. Should I? Maybe I forgot…”

_ “Don’t worry, sweet Rukako. You have yet to meet the Working Warrior here.” _

 “It’s fine.”

 “I’m Shizuo. I summoned all these people!”

 “You should really be more careful!”

The deep concern in her voice perplexes me. Shizuo himself even looks a little guilty.

_ “Hold on one moment, what does that mean? You mean to say summoning is dangerous?” _

 “Of course it is! Binding your soul to another’s takes a vast amount of energy- especially so the more… autonomous they are, or perhaps how powerful they are. It’s a miracle Shizuo is even still with us, if he was really the one who summoned you!”

 “It’s not thaat big a deal…”

 “You’re telling me you  knew  you could have died and you still chose to summon us? Dude, that’s pretty metal.”

 “…I wanted more friends.”

_ “Tell me, o saintly one, what can happen if summoning goes wrong?” _

Just then, I feel a strong hand touch my shoulder. When I whip around, however, the perpetrator has vanished. Perhaps Mayuri was the one who did it. Daru is equally likely, I think- though they could have gotten Suzuha to do it as well. Traitors, I can’t trust any of them. I turn back around.

Hm. This is new. The others are standing there, looking as if he’d just popped into thin air before them, which would be ridiculous.

 “Heya sweet cheeks.”

 “Woah… people really can do anything in this world…”

 “Crazy, ain’t it!? But hey now, that’s not true. Or is it? Who knows!”

_ “…Maria, who in the name of Steins;Gate is this?” _

 “This is Nyarlathotep. I like to consider him a friend.”

 “Woah, woah, woah! Don’t rush a relationship now! That’s craaazy!”

 “Nyarlathotep? You mean like  the  Nyarlathotep from the Lovecraft stuff? Like Cthulu-”

 “Cthulu more like cringe-ass nae nae baby.”

_ “If you wouldn’t mind, we were discussing something rather important. Would you kindly leave us be and be on your way?” _

 “And miss out on the juicy deets? Nuh-uh. ‘Specially not when I’m the one that’s gonna spill em like a popsicle out of an orange.”

 “I may not understand that terminology, but I don’t like it.”

 “Aw… I lost again!”

Mayuri is currently playing rock-paper-scissors with the hands coming off of the weird furry’s tail. You keep doing your thing, Mayuri. While she was doing that, I feel my phone buzz.

________________________________

Assistant: So turns out this dude is a polar bear. I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised.

Hououin Kyouma: What of the mission? Have you discussed anything of import?

Assistant: Can’t you stop your nerd bullshit for 5 seconds? No, we haven’t done anything (；￣Д￣）

Hououin Kyouma: Sounds to me like you want to do something with this polar bear.

Assistant: Will you stfu

Assistant: It’s like they’re waiting for something.

Hououin Kyouma: Hold strong, Cristina. You must unveil what secrets they hold.

Assistant: Goddamn it Okabe (╬ಠ益ಠ)

________________________________

 “Ooh, who’s the lucky lovebird?”

_ “Gah!” _

Somehow, in the midst of my chat with Kurisu, I’d been snuck up on. I’ll have to remedy this oversight on my part. I put my phone to my ear.

_ “This is Hououin Kyouma. Yes, we are currently at the Aoyama Missionaries guild. We have made contact with Lab Mem double-O 6 and are now en route to our base of operations… what’s that? You say to hear out the bizarre hyena? Is that what it is? I beg you to reconsider… no, I understand fully. I will report back as soon as I am able. El Psy-” _

 “Kongree!”

_ “...Kongroo.” _

“Ah…!”

_ “Very well, go ahead. What… ‘juicy deets’ are you going to spill? Make it quick.” _

 “Please!”

_ “…Please.” _

 “My, how kind of you. Ain’t this my lucky day?”

 “There’s a few things that can shimmy your jimmies if you summon a bit too readily. Depends on what baddie you’re goin’ to town with. Spontaneous combustion, heart attack, turned to stone, stuck in a never-ending dream…”

These all sound quite terrible. Why would anyone risk these just to summon some more friends?

 “I hear jellification’s pretty popular these days!”

It feels as if the world has stopped.

Did he just say what I think he said?

A single glance at Suzuha tells me she’s thinking the same thing.

 “You can’t mean- What would cause something like that? With regards to summoning, I mean.”

 “Oh, you know.”

_ “I most assuredly do not know.” _

 “Hm! You’d be fun in a good ol’ game of poker.”

He leans in close to me, whispering so no one else can hear. I try to lean away from him, but he only advances closer.

 “I know you know I know who you are, Okabe Rintarou. And as a word of advice… don’t get caught with your pants down! It ain’t over ‘til it’s over. This precious plaything of a world here is chock full of gates. 24, to be exact. But if you look hard enough… maybe you’ll find the 25th one.”

He steps back away, leaving everyone else to stare at us confusedly.

 “If our lil’ phoenix here doesn’t want to make a quick guess, it falls on my big boy shoulders to tell you all. OK! The answer is: time rules. And not in the sense that it rocks!”

That’s what I figured.

_ “So when someone with a time rule becomes too much for a summoner, they…” _

 “-Turn into the goopiest green Jell-O you’ve ever seen, babe.”

Almost instinctively, I stand protectively in front of Mayuri. One time, before reaching the Steins Gate worldline, SERN did just that to her. Although, it was using their LHC instead of this weird app. What originally started as something mystical is now quickly deteriorating into something terrifying.

 “…SERN isn’t a threat here, but… perhaps this world is much darker than I’d initially thought.”

 “But hey, don’t lie down like a dog! You haven’t got a single thing to fear… about that, anyway! Personally, I’ve only seen it a handful of times, and only one of those was from summoning! Probably! Ain’t that just spiffy?”

 “That’s… great…? If that’s something we don’t have to fear, what  is? ”

Nyarlathotep glances over at Suzuha, an odd look in his already-odd eyes.

 “One of these things is not like the other… you’ll find out, ya fiery chicken. And soon.”

 “Ta-ta for now!”

Before any of us could say anything else, space itself appeared to distort around the blue furry. With a blip and a cut-off cackle, he vanished.

 “Goodbye!”

I can’t help but be impressed by Mayuri’s cheerful attitude. Although, knowing her, it’s more than likely that she just didn’t understand what the furry thing had just said. Hell, I don’t even get half of it. Other than that something is bad news.

 “That sure was… Nyarlathotep? I guess. Okabe, do you know what he’s talking about with the Jell-O stuff?”

Suzuha is nodding at me, but I’m now a little hesitant. After all, each of us has the rule of ‘time,’ meaning that Shizuo himself is at risk to turn like that.

_ “Er… yes. In my experience, it’s something that can happen when you try to shove matter through a black hole. I, myself, have done it to a few bananas. My apologies, Mayuri.” _

 “Mayushii doesn’t remember that, but does this mean Okarin will buy me more bananas?”

 “How about we pick some up on the way to the lab?”

_ “Fair enough. Pay that bizarre creature no mind. Let us be on our way! To the Future Gadget Lab: Shinjuku Division! Thank you for your time, Maria.” _

As we were leaving, the girl looked over at the spot where Nyarlathotep had vanished.

 “How odd… I can’t seem to remember an instance of that happening.”

With that unsettling comment, we left the Aoyama Missionaries.

* * *

 

 “-and then he just let us leave! We barely even talked about anything! We were there for, what, a full hour? Nothing happened.”

Ever since Kurisu and Aseko had returned from Ueno, she’d been pretty ticked off. Personally, I can’t really blame her. She seems rather fascinated with this world, after all. Her experiment-loving desires must be jumping off the charts right now. To be left science-less was definitely a low-blow for her.

 “He was pretty cute though.”

 “Pft, if you want to be with that chain-smoking bear then be my guest.”

 “Mm. Nah, I’m good. I, er, have someone waiting on me.”

 “Oh, now there’s a surprise! Who is it? It wouldn’t happen to be a super moe girl-”

 “Shut up, pervert. That water buffalo Shizuo mentioned, right? What’s up with him?”

Shizuo fell out from the chair he was leaning in at this. Something tells me he’s still thinking about what that hyena earlier said.

 “Hey wait, don’t bring me into this!”

 “I mean, if you want to know, I suppose I don’t mind. It’ll cost you a banana though.”

 “Oh, do tell! Here you go!”

Ruka handed her a banana. Well, I assume so. At the moment, I’m doing little more than laying on the floor, staring at the divergence meter sacred artifact in my hands. Just like it said before, it had lights lit up for just the original five of us. There was no U for ‘Urushibara.’

 “He’s… a transient somewhere in this Tokyo. A water buffalo one, obviously. He had a big, white beard, a metal leg, and scars all over his body, plus dressed like the captain of a ship since, well, that’s what he was. He was stern and obsessed with revenge, but sweet and loving all the same… at least once I broke through the shell he put around himself.”

 “The rest of what happened is… complicated. I had a ‘dream’ where I lost him… then I lost him for real- but that wasn’t the end. We met yet again much later. Twice, actually. But each time, we had to… part ways.”

 “That’s awful! Why did he keep leaving??”

 “He didn’t really have a choice. And as for now, well…

 “Imagine if, in order to make sure that someone continues to live, you had to give up everything that happened between the two of you- and that you were the only one who remembered any of it.”

I bolt upright like a surge of electricity flowed through my body. What she just mentioned was the exact thing that happened to me, time and time again. With Faris, with Rukako, with Suzuha and Daru, with Mayuri… and especially with Kurisu.

_ “H-How do you…?” _

 “Or to give up your very existence for the sake of… well, everyone.”

It was plain as day that none of the others, save Suzuha, understood what she was talking about.

 “That’s… Aseko, what happened to you?”

 “That’s a tale for another day.”

She casually took a bite from her banana.

 “So if you say he’s waiting for you, does that mean he’s dead now?”

 “Oh, yeah. Um… that’s complicated. He is not dead in this Tokyo, I can probably say that.”

 “So we can find him!”

 “Absolutely not.”

I set down the sacred artifact on the table, stretching my legs.

_ “You seem rather conflicted about this man, yet you would deny help when offered? That seems remarkably petty.” _

“He doesn’t- he wouldn’t remember me, and I want to keep it that way, ok? It’s better for him that way.”

 “You would choose to not be remembered, even when there’s another way? That’s… sorry, I need some fresh air. Hey, Shizuo? Is there any way to get up onto the roof from here?”

 Take two lefts and a right, second door on your left will lead up to the rooftop. Why?”

 “Heh, habit. Right, Okabe?”

Suzuha sets down her half-finished bootleg DK Pepper and leaves out the door to the dorm.

 “That’s so sad… can’t you just say hi?”

_ “She probably doesn’t want to risk having him remember her or, at least, whatever it is she’s not mentioned.” _

I certainly know that, while I would dearly love for Kurisu to remember the time we had together or for any of the lab mems to remember Suzuha as we knew her, that might also involve invoking the tragic memories bound to them. Remembering their own or others’ tragic ends… at times, I’m grateful that Mayuri only half-remembers them as something of a dream. After all, she died time and time again. I can’t wish those memories upon her, not for anything.

 “Er, Kyouma?”

_ “What is it, Rukako? Does our banana festivities need something else? I was thinking some music, maybe some games… do they even have Rai-Net Access Battlers here?” _

 “I’ve never seen it.”

 “…”

Aseko, our other resident of this bizarre mirror-Tokyo, has no reply. Instead, she stares at the sacred artifact with something akin to apprehension in her eyes. Rukako is doing much the same, his graceful, feminine finger even being outstretched toward it.

Five letters were lit with an orange glow- O, Okabe, S, Shiina, H, Hashida, M, Makise, and then an A for Amane. However, something was very off.

The A was dimming.

**_ “Suzuha!” _ **

Without a moment to spare, I run to the door, lab coat trailing behind me.

 “Okarin, what’s wrong!?”

 “Okabe!?”

 “Where are you going?”

_ “Just stay here!” _

The pounding of my feet on the polished school floor is echoed by another’s. I turn for only the briefest second in my haste. Shizuo is following close behind me, his sword close at his side.

_ “I just said to go stay there, damnit! Go back!” _

 “No! I refuse to sit there if a friend might be in danger!”

I don’t have any time to argue with him. Whatever that fading light means, it fills me with an empty sense of dread. Please, let her be ok… let her be ok…

The door to the roof is wide open. I hurry up the stairs.

My heart, the very blood in my veins, feels as if it has slowed to a stop.

Amane Suzuha, daughter to Hashida Itaru, was laying on the floor. A pool of crimson blood escaped her from a deep wound on her stomach.

Amane Suzuha, who just left moments ago for a breath of fresh air…

Sitting on the railing beside her is the divergence meter. Only 4 letters were glowing. The last bulb, where the A should have been, was burnt out.

 “Su… Suzuha…?”

He pulls out his phone to check if the app is active. Of course, it isn’t.

 “Who… Who did…”

I fall to my knees. What else can I do? It was too much of a perfect dream to expect that Suzuha was back. Everything was too perfect.

And there was nothing I could do to save her.

Nothing…

 “Okabe, Shizuo.”

 “Aseko, come help! Suzuha- Suzuha’s been…”

_ “It’s no use. She’s… she’s…” _

Golden sparks start to fly up from her body. The sight means nothing to me, but Shizuo collapsed to his knees as well. It wasn’t hard to grasp their meaning.

 “She’s… no…”

The golden sparks intensified, flying higher and higher into the sky. Amane Suzuha’s body became more and more transparent until the only remnant that she’d ever existed at all was the blood staining the ground.

 “…”

_ “Damnit!” _

Pounding my hand onto the ground does nothing. And yet-

My thoughts are interrupted by the rustle of fabric and a hand being held out to me. On the back of it is a gray 5-pointed star. I reach out and take it. A force stronger than I thought Shizuo had pulls me to my feet- revealing to me that the hand did not belong to him.

 “Huh? Why do you have the same summoning emblem as me?”

Aseko pulls the glove off from her other hand. Both hands bore the same 5-pointed star.

 “That’s a part of that tale for another day I mentioned. Tell me. Shizuo, do you want to save your friend? Okabe, do you wish to return to your Tokyo?”

Shizuo wiped away the tears forming on his cheeks.

 “Without hesitation!”

_ “Of course I do. Is there really any way I can save her?” _

 “There is. You specifically might not like it, though. You’re going to need time… and a lot of it.”

She holds out her hands. Two copies of Shizuo’s sword appears in them, though one of them has a black magatama hanging off the end of it, as opposed to a white one.

 “Aseko, who are you?”

 “…I’ll see you soon.”

She lunges past us, arcing both swords in a wide X. A bright light spawns into being behind us, like she’d torn something invisible to the naked eye. It was a veritable rip in the fabric of reality- or, at least, that’s what it appeared to be.

_ “What is that- gah-!” _

Aseko pushes the two of us from behind, directly into the tear in reality. In my last brief moment of consciousness, I turned to see the girl who’d pushed us.

 “I’m sorry.”


	5. The Pillar of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HEFTY spoilers for Tokyo Afterschool Nonary Games! (Which can be found here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1231751)  
> Okabe and Shizuo learn what needs to be done.

Pain. That’s all I can think, that’s all I can remember. Every inch, every mere atom of my body feels as if it’s being torn away. I feel as if my very self is being ripped away from my body as if there were millions of individual threads keeping me locked into that vessel, and that each of them was not merely being cut, but torn apart by the cruelty of the universe. I can’t see anything. I can’t feel anything. I can barely think anything. Where am I going? Am I even moving? I sense a light, yet at the same time, inky darkness. I will myself toward that light.

 

The next instant, I feel a jarring bolt throughout my sense of self, like I’ve been forcibly thrust into another vessel. My limbs feel familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time. The blinding light of day impairs my vision. Above all that, however, is the burning, stabbing pain in my skull. It’s as if a thousand molten needles are being thrust into my cranium, all at once. Gradually, the pain recedes until a familiar scene lies before me.

 “Shizuo, who- are you alright!?”

We’re in the past.

 “Okarin, what’s wrong? You got a migraine or something?”

I hold my hand out to stop him. Just a few feet away from me, Shizuo is lying on the floor with his hands over his head. His breath is fast and labored, his face is pale, and his entire body is quaking. I would like to assume that I’ve built up some sort of tolerance for that otherworldly pain, but… that was something beyond even that of the time-leap machine.

 “Shizuo? Did something happen?”

Amane Suzuha was crouching over Shizuo’s body, her voice tainted with concern. I stagger over to the boy, myself. His eyes dart up to me, then to her. I know full well the residual pain he must be feeling at the moment.

 “S-Suzuha…?”

He gets to his feet and embraces Suzuha in a hug.

 “A-Agh, what-?”

Suzuha pulls away, visibly quite confused. I put my hand on Shizuo’s shoulder.

_ “I apologize, everyone, but the two of us need to go.” _

“B-But-”

I put on a familiar, bold tone.

_ “There’s no time to argue, Twilit Summoner. I’m afraid we must be off. Say hello to Ruka Urushibara for me, Maria.” _

 “I am sorry, but… who might that be?”

That simple answer stops me in my tracks.

_ “You mean to tell me he isn’t here? Ruka Urushibara, the highly-feminine shrine maiden? But rest assured, he is a he-” _

 “I’m afraid I don’t know who you’re talking about. If you want, I can send word if I hear from them.”

This isn’t possible- yet this is plain as day before us. Ruka Urushibara, who had been with us just before we were thrown back in time, is no longer here. It doesn’t make any sense. The mere act of sending someone back couldn’t have changed something so drastically- could it?

_ “No, that is… quite alright, thank you. Come, Shizuo, let us be off. Daru, Suzuha, return to the Future Gadget Lab at once. I may need you sooner rather than later.” _

 “Promise me you’ll tell me what’s going on later, Okabe.”

_ “I… will.” _

 “Er, sure thing.”

The two of them leave after bidding Maria adieu. She then left us to ourselves.

 “But where to?”

_ “You still retain your memories from before whatever time-leap that was. That means that Aseko girl must have done… something. And where was she at this point in time?” _

”Ueno!”

_ “Exactly. And something tells me that we’re expected.” _

* * *

 

It doesn’t take us long to reach Ueno after we asked around enough. Despite the supposed reputation it had, there was nary a soul to be seen.

 “You were right.”

This must be the polar bear Kurisu mentioned. Were I not as stressed and confused as I am, I might have made some comment about his lab coat being the “mad scientist’s natural and impenetrable defense.” But the fact of the matter is that no amount of lab coats could protect Suzuha from her fate.

 “Wait, were we waiting on him? Okabe, I swear-”

_ “You have the wrong idea, Cristina. I… I never planned on coming here.” _

__ "You dropped the theatrics. Okabe, are you feeling alright?"

I turn to face the fifth person in the room. That sword-wielding maiden picks her back up off the wall and steps over.

 “Ah… time can get so messy. It happened, didn’t it?”

Before I can say anything, Shizuo steps up to her. His fists are balled up and shaking.

 “You remember what happened, right? What did you do back there? Why do you have that mark- and the swords! Who even are you!?”

 “Aseko, what’s he talking about?”

 “Hah, you just had to be dramatic, Asuka…”

Who?

She pulls off her gloves, revealing star tattoos on the backs of both of her hands.

 “Shizuo, I am you. Or… I suppose it would be more accurate to say that you are me.”

 “Is that a thing that can just… happen?”

She directs this question toward the polar bear- Leib, if I recall correctly.

 “...It can happen. In truth, it isn’t even all that uncommon. But she’s not just a ‘shadow.’

 “No. I’m just me. In one sense, I’m entirely separate from Shizuo. In another, he stemmed from me. He is… the  protagonist  of this timeline.”

_ “The ‘protagonist’...? Wait, do you mean worldline?” _

 “Time mechanics aren’t constant from one timeline to the next. In one set of them, your ‘worldline’ concept might be the supreme ‘system’ of time. The world rewrites itself depending on what happens. In another, there could be an uncountable number of timelines, all progressing side-by-side.”

 “That sounds incredibly obtuse.”

 “It sounds like it, maybe, but if it’s anything like the situation Tokyo finds itself in now…”

_ “What do you mean?” _

 “This world- any world- is governed by ‘systems’. These ‘systems’ give a sense of how the ‘rules’ of the world operate. For example, one system could be about forsaking one group of people so another might live in bliss. Another could freeze everything solid so nothing can truly perish. Tokyo itself is wrapped up in a battle that can- or will- ultimately decide which ‘system’ reigns supreme… and what gods will reign over all.”

 “Time is no different.”

 “So you mean this world functions by the same temporal rules as our own?”

_ “You’re taking this mighty well, o experiment-loving girl.” _

 “Have you seen what these people can do?”

_ “Touché.” _

 “As for the other part, that’s just a term I picked up for the one whose soul is so overloaded like this. The ‘key component’ that gives any world like this a chance at survival.”

 “Me? Really?”

 “Mmhm.”

_ “Enough about that, what did you do? You… sent us back in time or… I don’t know what you did, but clearly, you did something!” _

 “Allow me to explain that. Aseko here filled me in earlier.”

_ “Earlier? When is this ‘earlier’?” _

 “Remember when I left your cute little round-table conference thing?”

_ “Pah, what business do you have calling it cute!” _

 “...That’s when. We’ll get to that.”

 “Aseko here didn’t come from this timeline, as you very well know. Instead, she came from another world entirely. One where the system of time isn’t quite the same. _Something_ happened in that world, and it had very far-reaching consequences… if she’s to be believed.”

 “In that world, many timelines coexisted at the same time. Not infinite, mind you- but close enough. She was just one of many, yet of such a small minority. According to her, it was… what, just one timeline in thousands that would have someone of your peculiar state?”

 “I was told it was something like a 0.003% chance.”

 “So one out of every, what, 33 thousand timelines? Damn…”

 “A peculiar aspect of this system was how it coincides with ‘faith’. Think of that as something like… the majority belief becomes the new reality. In this case, since the majority belief of the timelines was that it was doomed to perish from not having a ‘protagonist soul’, all timelines that  _had_  a shot of success wound up being torn apart.”

 “Except- people have always been stubborn in the face of defeat.”

 “This is where Aseko comes in.”

 “Exactly. There was a person- I don’t know their name, other than ‘Zero’- who sought to change this by utilizing the ‘system’ of time. The methods they employed were harsh, deadly, and devastating.”

 “They jumped around from timeline to timeline, seeking out divergent paths toward their goal- making new ones where they could. The sole purpose of this was to create such a strong burst of energy that it would ‘bind’ that point as a focal point in any universe with a similar circumstance. At that moment, the ‘systems’ of time converged on a single focal point. Ours included.”

I stand up, putting my hands on the desk.

_ “What do you mean the ‘systems of time’ converged? If a system is contradictory, how could they coexist?” _

 “You’re precisely right.”

_ “Huh?” _

 “I imagine you don’t know this, but when two contradictory rules combine, they create something that we call an ‘exception.’ Logic ceases to function and energy overwhelms the rules involved. The effects are often more deadly than you can imagine.”

 “I hope… you never have to deal with one, Okabe.”

 “I wouldn’t have expected it, but… it actually worked. Our ‘system’ of time was bound to theirs- among other systems. Time is a concept that cannot comply with anything other than itself- and so… an exception was generated for only the merest second.”

 “That point became so engraved in this world- in any world that has anything to do with roles and rules- and resulted in a ‘point of convergence.’”

I stagged back at these words. The point of convergence, where something that has been observed will continue to happen, again and again and again- Mayuri’s death, Kurisu’s death… and now…

Suzuha…

 “You have experience with this?”

_ “…I have. I witnessed the death of Shiina Mayuri over and over, unable to do anything about it. Every time I jumped back, everything I tried didn’t matter. All the happiness I had given to others through my experiments with time had to be undone. I gave them false hope- then stole it away.” _

 “Okabe…”

 “What happened next? I mean, converging all of the points wouldn’t bring Aseko here as well, would it?”

 “Back then, I was just known as Asuka. I- she’s the convergent ‘protagonist.’”

 “In another timeline under the same time system as before, another plan was put into play. It was something that would enable the start of the entire scheme, creating a stable time loop.”

 “Hold on- time loops? Isn’t that paradoxical? How can that even happen?”

 “Technically, a time loop is only paradoxical if it’s open. In a closed loop, the cycle begins itself again and again, yet only once. If it were open, that which would come to be would no longer exist. As for how the loop starts… who can say? A miracle, perhaps.”

 “This second plan involved a second girl, much like the first one. Her memories were stripped away so as to be the perfect receptacle for Asuka.”

 “They put her through much the same thing Asuka went through- treating it as an echo… beyond the past. When they were drawn into the same body, the two of them were fused, cementing a relationship between the world of ‘time’ and the physical world. She became a sort of ‘bridge.’ Or perhaps… a pillar.”

 “Since then, I’ve had some special powers. I can hop around wherever I please, I can take in all the information I want. I still hold all the rules contained in my- and Shizuo’s- sword. I can return lost memories- though that doesn’t always happen on purpose. I also exist ‘outside the flow of time’, meaning I don’t age.”

 “No offense, but that sounds like a pretty sweet gig.”

 “…He died…”

_ “Who?” _

The words escaped my mouth before I took a moment to think. That buffalo she mentioned.

I hadn't realized just how far this went.

 “He did. He died in the first game, dispelling the exception he created with Nyarlathotep. He died in the second game, completing the last step to fuse myself and Eko together.”

Eko… that must be the second girl. A fitting name- ironic, really.

She pulls a ring out of her pocket. It’s gold- emblazoned with a peculiar crest.

 “I finally got time with him. We got married, had a life… but…”

 “The age-old problem of immortality. Living on while your friends and loved ones move on.”

 “Aye.”

 “I… I can’t even imagine…”

Shizuo looks more shaken up than I would have thought.

 “A lonely life, to be sure.”

 “That aside, I’m not actually sure what happened just before I did whatever I did. I’m not used to this world’s system of time, so I… have to work on my ‘Reading Stoner’ a bit, heh.”

_ “Steiner.” _

She laughs.

 “I imagine I chucked you back in time by throwing you through a rift, right? I doubt you want to do that again.”

_ “It was far from pleasant, but-” _

 “Please no! It hurt so much-”

I rub my temples. It appears the twilit summoner needs a bit of work.

 “There’s a reason for that. Okabe, your time leap machine functioned by only transferring memories, right?”

 “Memories, huh…?”

_ “It did.” _

 “That’s not… quite what I did.”

Shizuo takes a step back, knocking over a small pile of papers.

 “What… what did you do?”

 “I killed you.”

…

…

She what?

 “You… you killed…?”

 “I sent your bodies through time itself. Nothing physical is supposed to go through there. When I sent you through, your memories were able to push through to your bodies, but that required warping your original body significantly.”

_ “Jellification.” _

 “I already hopped out to clean the pile of green goop. It wasn’t pleasant, and I can’t keep doing that. Beyond that, sending you back like that has… bizarre consequences. Sometimes memories- pieces of information- affect surroundings in ways you can’t predict. The world you return to wouldn’t always be the same.”

And that’s why Ruka wasn’t there.

 “And that brings us to why you’re here, Makise Kurisu.”

 “Me? What do I have to do with any of this?”

It all becomes crystal clear in the forefront of my mind. The whole reason we have Kurisu here, the whole reason we’ve discussed time like this right in front of her, even declaring that this world’s system of time is the same as our own, and even providing the rhetoric of how painful the other option is.

_ “They want you to build a time machine.” _

 “What? Wh- Wait a minute, why? All of this discussion is fascinating, but why did you even get sent back from the future in the first place?”

She pokes at my chest accusatorially.

_ “Amane Suzuha dies tonight.” _

 “W-What!?”

 “You want to see a temporal exception? Well, here you go. You caused one by bringing her here.”

_ “What do you mean ‘we caused one’!? We didn’t even know where we were!” _

 “You and Shizuo combined. He summoned you, and your connection to Suzuha brought her here. Unfortunately, in your world line, she can’t exist, can she?”

 “That doesn’t seem right-”

_ “It is.” _

I speak without even meaning to. Her face flashes in my mind, alive and happy.

_ “She came from the future to stop SERN’s takeover. It… in doing so, she ceased to exist. She simply cannot exist in the Steins Gate worldline.” _

 “You remember what I said about faith? The majority belief is that you, the only remnants from your world, are from that Steins Gate worldline. She’s not. This ‘faith’ decrees that she cannot exist- so the world will write itself to ensure that she doesn’t. You have two options.”

_ “What?” _

 “The first option- and no doubt the one you will choose to ignore- is to let her die and move on with your life. In doing this, you will have no way to return home.”

 “We’re not letting her die! None of them are dying!”

 “Sometimes it’s unavoidable, but… if you can prevent it, do. Or else you’ll live with that guilt for the rest of your life.”

_ “I concur. I will not let my lab members perish- especially not the daughter of one so close to me-” _

 “What-”

 “If that’s what you pick, then I believe you have just one other course of action. Make a time leap machine and use it to gather the missing members of your lab. Only then will your artifact be complete, and you should be able to create a sort of ‘gate’ back to your own Tokyo. Amane Suzuha will have to stay here, so both parties will remain in different places and the ‘faith’ won’t end her life. Understand? You will never be able to return.” 

_ “I understand.” _

 “Never return…?”

 “Good. If that’s all settled, let’s build us a time machine.”


End file.
